Nano technology will be applied in future chips

Researchers have created the smallest transistor in the world - only one atom thick and 10 atoms wide, from materials believed to replace silicon in the not-too-distant future. . This transistor, essentially a toggle switch, is powered by Graphene technology , a material that was only discovered four years ago.

Graphene is a single layer of graphite, found in simple pencils. The transistor is an important device of a microchip and is the foundation of any electronic device.

Dr. Kostya Novoselov and Professor Andre Geim from the School of Physics and Space at the University of Manchester conducted research on the applicability of Graphene in electronic devices and were the first to separate other substances. out of Graphite.

Super materials

Graphene has long been hailed as a metamaterial because it has many potential applications. It is a flat molecule, only one atom thick, very stable and very strong. Researchers are also looking to apply Graphene to demonstration technology because it is transparent.

Scientists at Manchester have shown that graphene can fit into a tiny circuit with separate transistors no bigger than a molecule.

Dr Novoselov told BBC News that graphene has many advantages over silicon because it can transmit electricity faster and further."These transistors will work in room temperature conditions - as required for other modern electronic devices."

Dr. Leonid Ponomarenko introduced a device with a transistor embedded inside.(Photo: ScienceDaily)

Dr Novoselov said graphene is an excellent conductor , making it an excellent material for chip application. ' Grapeme is superior to silicon in terms of operating intensity and is comparable to the best materials available today. We believe we can control power transmission 10 times faster. '

Grapene is no longer a hot topic for transistor researchers because it is an excellent conductor of electricity. Unlike Silicon, smaller Graphene transistors work even better.

Leak electricity

The semiconductor business is currently being conducted on a firm basis, eliminating the tiny chips made from fragile silicon materials. Companies like Intel have a roadmap to reduce the size of silicon-based circuits, to about 10 nanometers - 10,000 times smaller than the width of a single strand.

Many researchers believe that producing circuits less than 10 nanometers in silicon would be too difficult because at that size, they would open up electricity. The silicon circuit production plan is expected to end in 2020, making the race to find potential alternative materials very beneficial.

'We can control the cut to 20 nanometers, but when scaled down to just 1 nanometer, we need luck. The probability of success is 50% '. Producing large enough graphene sheets for use in chip manufacturing remains the biggest barrier, Dr Novoselov said.

Professor Bob Westervelt, in an article in Science magazine, evaluated this new material and its applicability: 'Graphene is a wonderful new material with the promise of rare properties. Great application of electronic nanotechnology. '