Latest computer chips Stories
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers use supercomputer to study effects of stacking graphene nanoribbons Copper's days are numbered, and a new study at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute could hasten the downfall of the ubiquitous metal in smart phones, tablet computers, and nearly all electronics. This is good news for technophiles who are seeking smaller, faster devices. As new generations of computer chips continue to shrink in size, so do the copper pathways that transport...
In the materials science equivalent of a football fan jumping onto the field and scoring a touchdown, scientists are documenting that one fundamental component of computer chips, long regarded as a passive bystander, can actually be made to act like a switch. That potentially allows it to take part in the electronic processes that power cell phones, iPads, computers, and thousands of other products. In a report in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the scientists document the...
A new generation of ultrasmall transistors and more powerful computer chips using tiny structures called semiconducting nanowires are closer to reality after a key discovery by researchers at IBM, Purdue University and the University of California at Los Angeles.The researchers have learned how to create nanowires with layers of different materials that are sharply defined at the atomic level, which is a critical requirement for making efficient transistors out of the structures."Having...
Researchers are adapting the same methods used in fusion-energy research to create extremely thin plasma beams for a new class of "nanolithography" required to make future computer chips.Current technology uses ultraviolet light to create the fine features in computer chips in a process called photolithography, which involves projecting the image of a mask onto a light-sensitive material, then chemically etching the resulting pattern.New nanolithography will be needed to continue...
By KATHLEEN GALLAGHER An iPod equipped with a tiny disk drive can hold up to 200 hours of video, or 40,000 songs. In other words, not nearly enough. The continuing effort to squeeze more digital material into ever smaller devices has taken a big step forward at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where researchers have helped develop a novel technique for making computer chips. The team used materials called "block copolymers" that can assemble themselves into microscopic patterns...
Connections fabricated between computer chips, external circuitry and processorsAs computers become more complex, the demand increases for more connections between computer chips and external circuitry such as a motherboard or wireless card. And as the integrated circuits become more advanced, maximizing their performance requires better connections that operate at higher frequencies with less loss.Improving these two types of connections will increase the amount and speed of information that...
NEW YORK -- Forgetting computer passwords is an everyday source of frustration, but a solution may literally be at hand -- in the form of computer chip implants. With a wave of his hand, Amal Graafstra, a 29-year-old entrepreneur based in Vancouver, Canada, opens his front door. With another, he logs onto his computer.Tiny radio frequency identification (RFID) computer chips inserted into Graafstra's hands make it all possible."I just don't want to be without access to the things that I...
University of Kentucky researchers have discovered a means of reducing gate leakage current of transistors in computer chips that will permit chip producers to continue developing more efficient and powerful chips with reduced power consumption.Zhi Chen, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, found that applying rapid thermal processing directly on gate insulators "“ used to control current flow of transistors in computer chips "“ can dramatically reduce the chips'...
