A chip made with carbon nanotubes, not silicon, marks a computing milestone

The prototype could give rise to a new generation of faster, more energy-efficient
electronics
carbon nanotubes
The sun may be setting on silicon. Now, computer chips made with carbon nanotubes
(one pictured) are the up-and-comers.

G. HILLS ET AL/NATURE 2019

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By Maria Temming

AUGUST 28, 2019 AT 1:00 PM

“Silicon Valley” may soon be a misnomer.

Inside a new microprocessor, the transistors — tiny electronic switches that

collectively perform computations — are made with carbon nanotubes, rather than
silicon. By devising techniques to overcome the nanoscale defects that often
undermine individual nanotube transistors (SN: 7/19/17), researchers have created
the first computer chip that uses thousands of these switches to run programs.

The prototype, described in the Aug. 29 Nature, is not yet as speedy or as small as
commercial silicon devices. But carbon nanotube computer chips may ultimately give
rise to a new generation of faster, more energy-efficient electronics.

This is “a very important milestone in the development of this technology,” says

Qing Cao, a materials scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
not involved in the work.

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