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March 31, 2008, 03:29 PM ET
Finding Alternatives to Silicon Chips
As computer circuitry advances, silicon chips decrease in size. But as transistors get smaller, they tend to leak more electrical current, reducing their effectiveness.
That was one of the conclusions physicists reached at the Condensed Matter and Materials Physics 2008 conference held at the University of London last week.
There is speculation that very soon, silicon transistors won’t be able to support the speed of computers in the future. So researchers at the University of Leeds are seeking out alternative materials to use on circuit boards, such as carbon nanotubes.
Using carbon nanotubes — which are about the width of a molecule of protein — isn’t anything new in the world of transistors. There has been talk of it as early as 2001. The real problem is trying to determine the atomic structure of each nanotube. The atomic structure, which varies with each tube, determines the way it conducts electricity.
They’ve come up with a way to do that by growing the nanotubes on a perforated ceramic grid, examining the atoms with an electron microscope, and placing them using a special device that functions like tweezers.
Researchers say that carbon nanotubes could be an important step in developing nanocomputing.—Hurley Goodall
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