Edmonton nanotechnology researchers working with atom-sized materials have made a breakthrough that could lead to smaller, ultraefficient computers.
The team, led by Robert Wolkow, together with collaborators at the Max Planck Institute in Hamburg, have developed a way to create atomic switches for electricity nearly 100 times smaller than the smallest switches, or transistors, on the market today. Their findings appeared in the Oct. 26 edition of the scientific publication Nature Communications.
“What we’re showing in this new paper is one part in a bigger scheme … that allows us to make ultralow power consuming electronic devices,” said Wolkow, a physics professor at the University of Alberta and the principal research officer at Edmonton’s National Institute for Nanotechnology. He’s also chief technology officer at spinoff company Quantum Silicon Inc.
“We’re aiming at 1,000 times less power than the computer in front of you or the phone in your hand. This would tackle a major problem facing the semi-conductor industry today. They have been enjoying several decades of smaller, faster, cheaper, and we as consumers keep getting those neat new devices. But they really have run into a wall now.”
To read more, click here.