IBM has built the first complete electronic integrated circuit around one "carbon nanotube" molecule, a new material that the company hopes will enhance performance on products from computers to diagnostic equipment.
IBM Corp. researchers are working to build faster PCs and more reliable electronics, a company research scientist said.
Nanotechnology is being explored by many companies as a means to keep innovation moving forward. The technology aims to improve product reliability in devices from personal computers to instrumentation for space exploration.
IBM's Breakthrough :
The circuit built by the IBM team was a ring oscillator, a circuit chip makers typically build to evaluate new manufacturing processes or materials. The circuit stresses certain properties that gives an indication of how new technologies will perform when used to build complete chips.
IBM noted the development as significant because the circuit was built using standard semiconductor processes and used a single molecule as the base for all components in the circuit, rather than linking together individually constructed components. This can simplify manufacturing and provide consistency to test and adjust materials in these applications.
What is Nanotechnology :
Nanotechnology is the science of developing materials at the atomic and molecular level in order to imbue them with special electrical and chemical properties. Nanotechnology, which deals with devices typically less than 100 nanometers in size, is expected to make a significant contribution to the fields of computer storage, semiconductors, biotechnology, manufacturing and energy.
Envisioned are all kinds of amazing products, including extraordinarily tiny computers that are very powerful, building materials that withstand earthquakes, advanced systems for drug delivery and custom-tailored pharmaceuticals as well as the elimination of invasive surgery, because repairs can be made from within the body.
Why is Nanotechnology Important :
Technology improves at a certain rate and some people say at today's pace, technology we will see limitations within the next 10 years. If we can find an alternative, improvements would continue rather than slowdown.
Today's PC chips operate at speeds of a couple of gigahertz. "The circuit we fabricated on one nanotube is 50 megahertz, which is substantially less," said Joerg Appenzeller, research member at the IBM TJ Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. "Ultimately, we believe it will be much faster than silicon. In the last five years we've manage to ramp up from a couple of hundred hertz to this 50 megahertz."
While chip have not reached speeds similar to silicon, Appenzeller believes carbon nanotube will advance well beyond silicon's capabilities. "The results will be smaller, faster, less expensive products over time, though very expensive in the beginning because it's an emerging technology," said Mark DeVoss, senior analyst for flash memory and emerging technology at iSuppli Corp. "The technology is still 10 to 15 years out. It's not in the next Apple iPod."
Carbon nanotube is one of many technologies being explored by companies and universities. Nantero Inc., a nanotechnology company, for example, continues to explore carbon nanotubes for next-generation semiconductor devices, such as memory.
IBM Corp. researchers are working to build faster PCs and more reliable electronics, a company research scientist said.
Nanotechnology is being explored by many companies as a means to keep innovation moving forward. The technology aims to improve product reliability in devices from personal computers to instrumentation for space exploration.
IBM's Breakthrough :
The circuit built by the IBM team was a ring oscillator, a circuit chip makers typically build to evaluate new manufacturing processes or materials. The circuit stresses certain properties that gives an indication of how new technologies will perform when used to build complete chips.
IBM noted the development as significant because the circuit was built using standard semiconductor processes and used a single molecule as the base for all components in the circuit, rather than linking together individually constructed components. This can simplify manufacturing and provide consistency to test and adjust materials in these applications.
What is Nanotechnology :
Nanotechnology is the science of developing materials at the atomic and molecular level in order to imbue them with special electrical and chemical properties. Nanotechnology, which deals with devices typically less than 100 nanometers in size, is expected to make a significant contribution to the fields of computer storage, semiconductors, biotechnology, manufacturing and energy.
Envisioned are all kinds of amazing products, including extraordinarily tiny computers that are very powerful, building materials that withstand earthquakes, advanced systems for drug delivery and custom-tailored pharmaceuticals as well as the elimination of invasive surgery, because repairs can be made from within the body.
Why is Nanotechnology Important :
Technology improves at a certain rate and some people say at today's pace, technology we will see limitations within the next 10 years. If we can find an alternative, improvements would continue rather than slowdown.
Today's PC chips operate at speeds of a couple of gigahertz. "The circuit we fabricated on one nanotube is 50 megahertz, which is substantially less," said Joerg Appenzeller, research member at the IBM TJ Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. "Ultimately, we believe it will be much faster than silicon. In the last five years we've manage to ramp up from a couple of hundred hertz to this 50 megahertz."
While chip have not reached speeds similar to silicon, Appenzeller believes carbon nanotube will advance well beyond silicon's capabilities. "The results will be smaller, faster, less expensive products over time, though very expensive in the beginning because it's an emerging technology," said Mark DeVoss, senior analyst for flash memory and emerging technology at iSuppli Corp. "The technology is still 10 to 15 years out. It's not in the next Apple iPod."
Carbon nanotube is one of many technologies being explored by companies and universities. Nantero Inc., a nanotechnology company, for example, continues to explore carbon nanotubes for next-generation semiconductor devices, such as memory.