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.
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
The US House of Representatives yesterday unanimously passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, which aims to disincentivize Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by cutting Chinese leaders and their family members off from the US financial system if Beijing acts against Taiwan. The bipartisan bill, which would also publish the assets of top Chinese leaders, was cosponsored by Republican US Representative French Hill, Democratic US Representative Brad Sherman and seven others. If the US president determines that a threat against Taiwan exists, the bill would require the US Department of the Treasury to report to Congress on funds held by certain members of the
RSS