Can Moore’s Law be Saved by Carbon Nanotubes?

Moore’s Law, which posits that “the number of transistors packed into a computer chip will double every 18 months” (Metz) has been holding true for the most part thanks to Intel.

What’s the importance of more transistors?

Well, more “transistors means you can juggle more data at greater speed, which in turn, drives the progress of everything from smarphones, smart watches, and smart thermostats to the vast networks of compters that underpin Google, Facebook, and Twitter.” (Metz)

Unfortunately, Moore’s Law has been slowing down and many believe that it will no longer hold true. That can all change with the devlopment of “building transistors with carbon nanotubes- microscopic sheets of carbon rolled into cylinders.” (Metz)

Haensch, senior manager in IBM’s research arm, “believes that materials like carbon nanotubes can continue to yield smaller transistors for years to come. The only thing that will stop Moore’s Law, he says, is the economics of building these transistors for a mass audience.” (Metz)

New carbon nanotube research in Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) has discovered that “ by using a technique known as ‘electrospinning’ whereby a very high electrostatic potential is applied to liquid, it is possible to create a sheet of aligned carbon nanotubes measuring over 1.5m long — the largest area demonstrated to date.”

The potential of carbon nanotubes exceeds that of just transistors. Researchers are looking into using carbon nanotubes in the automotive, aerospace, and health industries as well.

Sources

“Carbon Nanotube Research Could Enable Lighter, Faster Electric Motors.” University of Surrey. Web. 13 Oct. 2015. <http://www.surrey.ac.uk/features/carbon-nanotube-research-could-enable-lighter-faster-electric-motors>.

“IBM’s New Carbon Nanotubes Could Move Chips Beyond Silicon.” Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital. Web. 13 Oct. 2015. <http://www.wired.com/2015/10/ibm-gives-moores-law-new-hope-carbon-nanotube-transistors/>.