For decades, chip manufacturers have been concerned that current processor manufacturing techniques will reach their limits, capping the absolute computing power available on a single chip.
And for at least a decade, researchers have been searching for new production methods for processors, Carbon nanotubes may provide a functional solution.
But don’t toss your current computer out the window just yet. Stanford’s nanotube machine contains a mere 178 carbon nanotube transistors and processes information at only 1kHz – about one million times slower than current smartphone processors.
According to Naresh Shanbhag, head of the SONIC (Systems On Nanoscale Information fabriCs Center) project that created the chip, “This is the first time that anybody has been able to put together a complete working computer based on any beyond-CMOS technology".
While, carbon nanotube transistors have been around since 1998, researchers have had difficulty producing them in a large quantity due to their inherently flawed structure.
To solve this problem, Standford’s researchers developed a technique they call “imperfection-immune design”. Using this method, the researchers pushed high current electricity through a carbon nanotube circuit to vaporize unwanted carbon nanotubes. Once the unwanted material was removed the team etched the remaining material to create the circuit. The etching, which was guided by an algorithm that’s based on graph theory, allows researchers to mathematically guarantee their circuits will work regardless of any nanotube imperfections.
Although it will be a while before a carbon nanotube computer ever starts solving meaningful calculations, researchers believe the technology could eventually extend the limits of chip density and ultimately create more powerful computers .
Image Courtesy of Stanford University