Higher speed chips in development
1 min read
Researchers have announced findings that could lresult in microchips that operate at much higher speeds than standard silicon chips.
The technology behind the chips is graphene, a one atom thick layer of carbon atoms. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) built an experimental graphene chip known as a frequency multiplier, capable of taking an incoming electrical signal of a certain frequency and producing an output signal that is a multiple of that frequency. The researchers claim that the graphene chip can double the frequency of an electromagnetic signal.
MIT's assistant professor, Tomas Palacios, department of electrical engineering and computer science, said: "In electronics, we're always trying to increase the frequency in order to make faster and faster computers and cellphones that can send data at higher rates. Researchers have been trying to find uses for this material since its discovery in 2004. I believe this application will have tremendous implications in high frequency communications and electronics."
Despite the difficulty of generating high frequencies above 4 or 5 gigahertz, Palacias added that the graphene technology could lead to practical systems in the 500 to 1,000 gigahertz range.
