International Business Machines Corp scientists have created carbon transistors that for the first time outperform prototype silicon devices, another step toward tiny computers using little power.
The development, reported in today's issue of the journal Applied Physics Letters, holds the promise of allowing molecular structures called carbon nanotubes to replace silicon as the basis for computer microprocessors, said Phaedon Avouris, manager of nanoscale science at IBM. Silicon's physical limit will be reached in 10 to 15 years, he said.
Researchers are trying to shrink computing to microscopic levels to speed processors, allow their use in a larger array of devices, cut power consumption and handle more complex problems.
IBM, the world's largest computer maker, spent more than US$5 billion last year on research and development.
"It's totally analogous to silicon -- we don't need to reinvent the architecture," Avouris said.
Carbon nanotubes are cylinder-like structures about one fifty-thousandth the diameter of a human hair, IBM said.
Another two to three years may be needed to overcome remaining scientific issues before a carbon-based transistor can be turned over to engineers for product development, he said.
The carbon nanotube transistors would sit on a silicon base so that proven chip-processing technology could be used to manufacture the faster chips, he said.
In addition to outperforming the latest advanced silicon prototypes, IBM for the first time demonstrated that both negatively charged and positively charged matter can flow through the carbon transistor gates, Avouris said. Previously, only positively charged matter could flow.
A transistor is an on-off switch that is the basis of microprocessors.
IBM shares rose US$0.24 to US$85.69 on Friday. They have dropped 29 percent this year.
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