It’s not the smallest transistor on the market, however the boffins at IBM have constructed the tiniest carbon nanotube transistor thus far. It’s nine nanometers in size, making it one nanometer smaller than the presumed physical limit of silicon transistors. Plus, it consumes less power and is ready to carry more current than present-day technology. The researchers accomplished the trick by laying a nanotube on a skinny layer of insulation, and using a two-step process — involving some form of black magic, little doubt — so as to add the electric gates inside. The catch? (There’s always a catch) Manufacturing pure batches of semiconducting nanotubes is hard, as is aligning them in the sort of way that the transistors can function. So, it will become it slow before the technology can compete with Intel’s 3D silicon , but at the least we’re one step toward carbon-based computing.

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Tags: black magic, carbon nanotube transistor, electrical gates, insulation, nanometers, present day, silicon transistors

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