Nano technology

Yorktown Heights, N.Y., April 27, 2001 ... IBM scientists developed a breakthrough transistor technology that could preview how computer chips can be made smaller and faster than what is currently possible with silicon. As reported in the April 27 issue of the journal Science, IBM researchers have built the world's first array of transistors out of carbon nanotubes -- tiny cylinders of carbon atoms that measure about 10 atoms across, are 500 times smaller than today’s silicon-based transistors and are 1,000 times stronger than steel. The breakthrough bypasses the slow process of manipulating individual nanotubes one-by-one, and is more suitable for a future manufacturing process. This achievement is an important step in finding materials that can be used to build computer chips when silicon-based chips cannot be made any smaller -- a problem chip makers are expected to face in about 10-20 years. “This is a major step forward in our pursuit to build molecular scale electronic device...