IBM Makes 100 GHz Graphene Transistor
IBM might have fallen from the spotlight of the computer world, but it remains an integral figure in its innovation. And to prove this, behold: IBM has announced it successfully developed a graphene transistor that is clocked at an insanely fast 100 GHz. Needless to say, this is the fastest transistor ever made and silicon might just have lost its spot as the number one semiconductor.
The best silicon transistors have only managed to make to 40 GHz, and it is becoming exceedingly difficult to continue down the current path without some sort of breakthrough. It looks like graphene will be IBM’s answer to this dilemma and with good cause. Not only is it much faster, but IBM used the same silicon fabrication techniques in order to make it. This removes a major hurdle to transitioning to graphene.
Still, this is only the early stages of the process. As with all technological breakthroughs, it will be some time before it trickles its way down to personal computing. Nevertheless, it has been a good week for technological breakthroughs.
Via Gizmodo
MIT Brings Future of Lasers to Computing
Physicists at MIT have broken new ground in the exciting field of lasers. They have successfully shown that germanium laser technology can be extended to use in personal computing, sometime in the near future. This will have vast implications in the world of hardware.
Many hardware analysts are noticing that we appear to be reaching a sort of limit for data transfer speed. The solution thus far has been reducing and optimizing the semiconductors that transfer the electrical signals. MIT’s new potential solution: germanium lasers.
Germanium lasers operate at a frequency capable of transmitting data through optical signals as opposed to the traditional route of electrical signals. This manages to save energy, because there is no need for additional power to send data faster. This also removes traditional lasers from computers which have undesirable materials, like gallium arsenide.
So far this is more of a proof of concept than a market prototype. The cost of implementing this will likely be highly expensive, as it requires intricate patterns to be etched onto silicon chips. Nevertheless, we can always wait for the promise of the glamorous future and its germanium lasers.
Via DailyTech
