Small Transistors

Scientists from IBM have reported their success in devising a new way to make transistors from parallel rows of carbon nanotubes. The new technology will enable connecting of ultrathin metal wires to nanotubes by shrinking the width of the wires without increasing electrical resistance.

Chip makers at present while making small transistors face challenges such as resistance and heat increase as wire becomes smaller. This in turn limits the speed of chips in the transistors. The new technology, according to scientists, would see the light of the day in the beginning of the next decade. That would witness the shrinking of the contact point between two materials to 40 atoms. According to researchers, three years after this feat, the number would come down to 28 atoms.

Scientists believe the ability to shrink the size of transistors beyond psychological limits would allow them to increase the speed of computer processors.