Scientists make one atom thick, 50 atoms wide Graphene transistor

According to Professor Andre Geim and Dr. Kostya Novoselov from The School of Physics and Astronomy at The University of Manchester, the new transistors are only one atom thick and less than 50 atoms wide. The development opens the gate to superfast computer chips at sizes not possible before with standard Silicon transistors.

According to the semiconductor industry roadmap, miniaturization of electronics will face its largest challenge in the next twenty years. This is because Silicon based technology will begin to reach its minimum size limit.

Graphene, a form of carbon that is only one atom thick, may provide a solid alternative for even further miniaturization of electronics as silicon-based technology reaches its limit.

Graphene transistors were originally created two years ago, but at that time they were very “leaky” meaning current could not be turned off to zero. The “leaky” quality of the transistors effectively limited their uses, and rendered them useless for employment in computer chips and electronic circuits. But over the course of the past two years the research team at the University of Manchester was able to overcome this problem, and have created fully-functional and stable Graphene transistors.