Posted on 06/22/2017 11:18:28 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
As reported recently in the journal Nature Communications, a team of researchers from the University of Central Florida (UCF), CREOL and the University of Texas have developed a graphene-based transistor that could one day lead to super-fast and super energy-efficient computers. By super-fast we mean a thousand times faster and by super energy-efficient we mean it will only use a hundredth of the power.
Right now, the world of electronics relies on silicon-based transistors to power its devices. And while their invention made it possible for devices to be reduced to smaller sizes as the transistors allowed the flow of current to be controlled, we have just about reached the limit of what silicon can do.
“If you want to continue to push technology forward, we need faster computers to be able to run bigger and better simulations for climate science, for space exploration, for Wall Street. To get there, we can’t rely on silicon transistors anymore,” explained one of the researchers, Ryan M. Gelfand, director of the NanoBioPhotonics Laboratory at UCF.
And so the team turned to what has been hailed as a wonder-material because of its almost magical features — the 1-atom thick, two-dimensional form of carbon known as graphene. According to their findings, if they apply a magnetic field to a graphene ribbon, it will allow them to alter the resistance of current flowing through it. For their particular device, they used carbon nanotubes to increase or decrease the current that controls the magnetic field. Alternatively, increasing or decreasing the strength of the magnetic field allows the flow of current to be increased or decreased too.
In terms of speed, the use of graphene will help pick up the slack that silicon-based transistors can no longer move from. As it is, using a series of silicon-based transistors in different arrangements serve as logic gates that make it possible for microprocessors to solve all kinds of math and logic problems, from the simplest to the most complex ones. The thing is, the maximum achievable clock speed using such transistors can only go as high as 3 to 4 gigahertz. By switching to graphene-based transistors, that speed can make a giant leap from mere gigahertz to the terahertz range — that’s virtually a thousand times faster!
And speed isn’t the only benefit that can be gained from using graphene. Silicon-based transistors have also reached their limit in terms of size, meaning, shrinking them even further can no longer be done. But with graphene, that limit no longer exists. For device makers, that means they can continue shrinking down devices further and packing in more functionalities. And for us eager consumers, that means we can look forward to even more powerful and awesome devices in the future.
Pencils?
Related
New chemical method could revolutionize graphene
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3562107/posts
“If you want to continue to push technology forward, we need faster computers to be able to run bigger and better simulations for climate science.....”
Of course that is # 1. If he means predicting the weather better, great. But I doubt that’s it.
Science-minded university freshmen could do worse than to major in materials science with an emphasis on graphene.
The first thing the “climate models” will show is that Graphene causes climate change. /s
My pencil is so fast right now I can barely keep up.
Carbon is evil. Leftards say we are supposed to eliminate carbon.
Ah, so our graphene based computers of the future won't actually run any faster than today's computers. They'll just be stuffed with more bloatware.
My computer used to be fast- now it’s only HalfF ast (You gotta sound it out for the joke to work)
Pencils contain graphite. Graphene is another molecular arrangement of carbon similar to nanotubes, which are a 2-dimensional lattice of carbon as opposed to a 3-dimensional lattice such as diamond.
No matter how fast the computer is ... GIGO.
Now you can get your porn 1000 times faster.
A 1000 times faster? Wait until Microsoft gets a hold of it.
The increased energy efficiency is the big thing. Heat dissipation is a major limiting factor in high speed computing right now.
That sounds interesting. I would like to know if there is a dual action—the transistors create their own emission field and actuate a pixel simultaneously for display purposes—or not.
I see a lot of “COULD” when reading about graphene. Right now it “appears” to have some “promise” but I still see it as many who are trying to milk it as the new hope of funding because it “could”. As stated, the biggest problem is heat dissipation because as with the X-15, the faster it moves through the air, the hotter it gets. Same goes for electrons and the mediums in which they have to move. There are some advancements in composites of graphite composition I am learning about now but the big problem is finding a correlation of properties to the old standard of 6063-T6 aluminum. Especially when it comes to cost.
In terms of speed, the use of graphene will help pick up the slack that silicon-based transistors can no longer move from.
we can look forward to even more powerful and awesome devices in the future
It's always amusing when a non-technical person writes about cutting-edge technology.
This is all over my head. If magnetic fields alter the state of the graphene, is this a one time alteration or can they be damaged with magnets in future?
Would electronic pulse weapons disable as well?
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