Simple and cheap way to make carbon nanotube based computer chips

Tweet Scientists in Israel are reporting the first simple and inexpensive method for building the large-scale networks of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) needed for using these microscopic wisps in a future generation of faster, smaller, and more powerful computers and portable electronic devices.


Photo and illustration (inset) of carbon nanotube circuits. (Credit: Courtesy of Ze'ev Abrams and Yael Hanein, Tel-Aviv University, Israel)

The study describes a method to manufacture and assemble large arrays of SWCNTs into an integrated circuit format. It can be used on a variety of surfaces and produced on an industrial scale. The process involves creating networks of nanotubes suspended between silicon pillars, which are then transferred onto other surfaces by direct stamping, the researchers say.