A designer view of a single-wall carbon nanotube junction with metallic portions on left and right ends and a Semiconductor ultra short 3,0nm channel in between. The National University of Science and Technology is in Moscow.
A team of researchers have created a transistor that is 25,000 times smaller than a human hair, using a tool inserted into an electron microscope.
Five years ago, researchers from Japan, China, Russia, and Australia began working on the project that is now published in the journal Science.
Professor Golberg said the result was a "very interesting fundamental discovery" which could lead to the development of tiny transistors for future generations of advanced computing devices.
Professor Golberg said that they have shown it is possible to control the electronic properties of an individual carbon nanotubes.
The researchers created the transistor by heating a carbon nanotubes made up of few layers until the outer tube shells separated.
The pattern in which carbon atoms joined together to form the single-atomic layer of the nanotube wall was rearranged because of the heat and strain.
The new structure connecting the carbon atoms resulted in the transformation of the nanotube into a transistor.
A group of people from the National University of Science and Technology in Moscow created a theory about the atomic structure and properties of the transistor.
Dr. Dai-Ming Tang said the research had demonstrated the ability to manipulate the properties of the nanotubes to make a device.
Professor Golberg headed up the research group at this center and Dr. Tang began working on the project five years ago.
Dr. Tang said that carbon nanotubes are promising for making energy efficient transistors.
It remains a challenge to control the chirality of individual carbon nanotubes, which uniquely determines the atomic geometry and electronic structure.
In this work, we designed and fabricated carbon nanotubes by heating and mechanical strain.
Professor Golberg said the research in demonstrating the fundamental science in creating the tiny transistor was a promising step towards building beyond-Silicon microprocessors.
The "building blocks" of all electronic devices, including computers, are transistors. Apple says the chip which powers the future iPhones contains 15 billion transistors.
The computer industry has been focused on developing transistors that are smaller and less powerful than Silicon.
In recent years, researchers have made significant steps in the development of tiny transistors, which can fit onto the head of a pin.
Professor Golberg said that miniaturization of transistors down to nanometer scale is a great challenge.
The present discovery is not practical for mass-production of tiny transistors, but it opens up a new horizon of using thermomechanical treatments of nanotubes for obtaining the smallest transistors with desired characteristics.
Dai-Ming Tang et al., Semiconductor channels in metallic carbon nanotubes by thermomechanical chirality alteration, Science, is a work. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abi8884
Science journal information.
Researchers use an electron microscope to turn a tube into a transistor.
The document is copyrighted. Any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research cannot be reproduced without written permission. The content is not intended to be used for anything other than information purposes.
