Nanotech breakthrough: get ready for graphene

The exciting one-atom thick super material can now be produced in ample quantities and high quality. Rapid improvements in nanotechnology are now expected.

Technology improvements are about to get dramatically ultra-fast. Exciting sustaining and disruptive innovations are on the way for just about every digital appliance, from touchscreen tablet computing to solar cells, according to a Science Daily report. Graphene is a new form of carbon, one atom in thickness, extremely strong and highly conducive. High performance can be achieved with graphene transistors that can operate at much faster speeds and in higher heat conditions compared to current silicon chip technology. Moreover, silicon is believed to have achieved the near minimum effective size. The result? Graphene will be big part in ensuring computing technology produce exciting gains in power in small packages. IBM and Intel are keen on developing the future of computing by further exploring the potential of graphene. This breakthrough was made possible by European researchers who worked collaboratively in a joint project that produced two successful outcomes, both of which would make the honey-combed shaped graphene commercially viable. The first project milestone was successfully using micro-fabrication techniques to effectively produce graphene in a practical, scalable way, a process that was once a painstakingly difficult method with variable quality. The second milestone was precisely measuring the material's electrical characteristics to ensure that the material would meet technical standards in mass commercial production.