Carbon nanotube transistors outperform silicon

There is a pressing demand to improve the performance of the computer chips that underpin virtually all electronic devices today. However, it is generally accepted that we are approaching the limits of traditional materials used in their manufacture, such as silicon.

The superconductivity of carbon nanotubes has meant they have long been seen as a potential alternative, but creating transistors with the one-atom-thick material has proved difficult. Published in the journal Science Advances, this latest study presents a solution that could lead to a dramatic improvement in computing performance.

"This achievement has been a dream of nanotechnology for the last 20 years," said study co-author Michael Arnold, a UW-Madison professor of materials science and engineering.

"There has been a lot of hype about carbon nanotubes that hasn't been realised, and that has kind of soured many people's outlook. But we think the hype is deserved. It has just taken decades of work for the materials science to catch up and allow us to effectively harness these materials."