The world of computing was treated to a rare breakthrough in nanotechnology on Wednesday. Researchers from Stanford University announced the creation of the first-ever working carbon nanotube computer.
The findings were published in this week’s edition of the scientific journal Nature. Led by professors Subhasish Mitra and H.S. Philip Wong, researchers behind the project call it "CEDRIC," a loosely derived acronym that stands for carbon nanotube digital integrated circuit.
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For the uninitiated, this new development signals a shift from silicon transistor computing, a technology that will soon reach its limit since transistors can only get so small before quantum effects stop them from shrinking any further. Carbon nanotube transistors, however, are now a more realistic solution for future generations of computers because they conduct electricity better than silicon, and can scale smaller.
That means carbon nanotube-based computers will be able to deliver faster speeds and more energy efficiency , a challenge today’s semiconductor manufacturers are struggling to address with each new generation of processor.
Carbon-nanotube technology is still new, however, and poses many problems. The Stanford team's solution addresses some of the key issues with error correction: Their system can switch off defective carbon nanotubes, and they developed an algorithm to address misalignments of the carbon nanotubes that could result in short-circuiting of the system.
"People have been talking about a new era of carbon nanotube electronics moving beyond silicon," Mitra said in a statement. "But there have been few demonstrations of complete digital systems using this exciting technology. Here is the proof."
At this point, CEDRIC is not capable of carrying out immediate, complex computations like your desktop computer can. Yet as the technology progresses, it will one day be able to. Stanford's prototype represents the first step toward more robust examples of carbon-nanotube computing in the future.
A Stanford representative told Mashable that he hopes to see "commercially viable products in 10 to 12 years."
Image: Stanford University