Whats Next For Processors After Silicon?

Over the last 40 years, chip makers have steadily increased the speed and muscle of computers

, cell phones and communications networks by reducing the size and increasing the number of silicon transistors. Up until now, the number of transistors packed on a silicon computer chip have doubled every 18 to 24 months (Moores Law). Modern chips currently hold approximately 2 billion transistors however chip designers are quickly reaching the physical limits of this technology. Processors require more trace elements which are primarily supplied by China who holds the keys to distribution.

To quote Craig Sander, Corporate Vice President of Technology Development for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), a chipmaker in Sunnyvale, California, The real magic of integrated circuit technology has been that we can increase the density while reducing the cost. The silicon chip has had an incredible influence on technology.

Beyond Silicon - How Graphene Could Revolutionize Electronics

Researchers in the United Kingdom, Texas and Georgia have recently rediscovered Graphene, once thought to be a technologically unimportant material. It is a flat sheet of pure carbon rings one atom thick with possible applications in computer chip design, communication products and touch screens. Physicists at the University of Manchester in England uncovered some interesting properties of Graphene. Electrons travel through it 100 times easier than silicon. Being a two dimensional material, it may be possible to build smaller devices with greater control of electrical flow.

Walt de Heer, a physicist at Georgia Tech believes Graphene can operate at terahertz frequencies and compute trillions of operations per second while producing much less heat than current silicon chips. Graphene does have one large drawback. It currently cant act like a switch which is crucial for performing as a true semiconductor.

Alternative Materials

Attempts are being made to mix other materials with silicon to achieve greater chip capacity Gallium arsenide, and carbon nanotubes are being studied. Billion dollar investments are required by chip makers to ensure the compatibility of various alternative materials when combined with silicon. It has been reported that previously incompatible materials are now compatible with nano materials.

Intel has successfully devised a method of growing Gallium arsenide in thin layers directly on top of silicon wafers. Gallium arsenide operates at much greater speeds than silicon and produces less heat.

The Nanoelectronics Research Initiative is actively researching new physical switching mechanisms that dont require an electronic charge. This research and a 16 nm transistor design breakthrough by AMD may well allow Moores Law to continue well beyond 2020.

by: Tommy Barrowdale

POST COMMENT

Recycling Aluminum Industry Moving a Plasma TV The Best Digital Cameras To Buy This Summer Wynndel Box and Lumber Electrical Superintendent Talks About Real-Time Quality Control with Help from INGEAR Products Digital Photo Printing And Online Photo Printing Finding A Discount Digital Camera Air Conditioners: Recommendations For Use 5 Different Types of Digital Signs Kalimantan Coal Supply Large Steam Coal For Electric Power Plants Helpful Hints To Find The Best Compact Digital Camcorder Electric Cigarettes Advice Anyone Abdicate Cigarette smoker At this point Electric cigarettes Could possibly be less dangerous then Cigarette smoking Five Myths About Electricity Deregulation In Texas