IBM Designs Smallest Carbon Nanotube Transistor

This weekend seems to be a time when research advancements are being published one after another.

First there was the quantum physics-based nano loudspeaker plan and, now, IBM is revealed to have made the smallest ever carbon nanotube transistor.

About one nanometer smaller than the assumed limit of silicon transistors, it was made by laying a nanotube on a thin layer of insulation and then adding the electrical gates through a two-step process.

Unfortunately, the manufacturing procedure of the semiconductor nanotubes is very difficult, so the carbon nanotube transistors aren't going to be used in anything for years.

Still, silicon will only take the industry so far, so the jump to carbon computing will be necessary sooner or later.

For those who want numbers, the length of the transistor is 9mm and the operating voltage is 0.5V.