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Graphene 'Big Mac' — One Step Closer To Microchips

Posted by timothy on from the chips-with-vinegar-on-the-side dept.

RogerRoast writes "Scientists at the University of Manchester have come one step closer to creating the next generation of computer chips using graphene. By sandwiching two sheets of graphene with another two-dimensional material, boron nitrate, the team created the graphene 'Big Mac' – a four-layered structure which could be the key to replacing the silicon chip in computers. The research results were published in Nature Physics (abstract; full version paywalled)."

13 of 50 comments (clear)

  1. Not boron nitrate. . . by MagusSlurpy · · Score: 4, Informative

    . . . but boron nitride. I'm also worried by the fact that I knew our summary was wrong without even looking at the abstract.

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    My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells by the seashore.
    1. Re:Not boron nitrate. . . by gilgoomesh · · Score: 2

      Slashdot correctly quoted the University of Manchester article. It used "boron nitrate" repeatedly and only used "boron nitride" in a quote. I don't know what MagusSlurpy is talking about when he mentions the abstract though it doesn't mention either.

      I'm far more disappointed that nothing mentions why we would expect this to replace silicon as a semiconductor.

    2. Re:Not boron nitrate. . . by MagusSlurpy · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Sorry, I meant article, it's not in the abstract. If you don't have a Nature subscription, you can still look at the supplementary info, it mentions BN several times, not BNO3.

      As to why we would expect it to replace silicon, it's because the graphene-to-boron nitride transition can be tuned by the application of a current to the graphene "top bun."

      I'm not sure that's a good enough reason for it to replace silicon, but it is kind of cool.

      --
      My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells by the seashore.
    3. Re:Not boron nitrate. . . by dkf · · Score: 2

      Slashdot correctly quoted the University of Manchester article. It used "boron nitrate" repeatedly and only used "boron nitride" in a quote.

      I've just checked; the "nitrate" is present once and "nitride" three times. Looks like a press-office error.

      (Disclosure: I work for the same university.)

      --
      "Little does he know, but there is no 'I' in 'Idiot'!"
    4. Re:Not boron nitrate. . . by MagusSlurpy · · Score: 2

      Nobody doesn't like molten boron!

      --
      My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells by the seashore.
  2. Full paper free on arXiv by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://arxiv.org/abs/1107.0115

  3. Re:two-dimensional material? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    While in the more comman usage of the term, it would seem that a two-dimensional material cannot exist in space, graphene has a "two-dimensional" atomic structure, making a single atom layer possible. Of course if that thickness isn't zero, it means there are still three dimensions, but it's still a common terminalogy, for whatever reason.

  4. Graphene-boron neutron shield? by Suomi-Poika · · Score: 2

    Someone who knows nuclear physics should comment this:

    Boron has a large cross section for neutron capture, graphite on the other hand is used as a neutron moderator. Is it possible that graphene-boron nitride is also the optimal neutron shielding material?

  5. Re:It's been 7 years! by maxwell+demon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So. When will someone plug a graphene cpu into a motherboard?

    The first transistor was invented in 1925. The first integrated circuit was developed in 1958. That's 33 years. The first commercially available microprocessor was available in 1970, that's another 12 years. And you complain because of just seven years?

    --
    The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  6. No. by Kupfernigk · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What do you think happens to the boron when it captures a neutron? It gives off an alpha particle and changes to lithium. Your neutron shielding material would disintegrate very rapidly indeed.

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    From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
  7. Re:Two Dimensional? by MagusSlurpy · · Score: 4, Informative

    Graphene is referred to as being "two dimensional" because the thickness is typically controlled to one atomic layer thick along the z axis, while it extends infinitely (comparatively) along the x and y axes.

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    My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells by the seashore.
  8. Big Macs have 5 layers. by drewmister · · Score: 2

    This would be the McDouble of computer chips.

  9. Re:Two Dimensional? by chichilalescu · · Score: 2

    please note that graphene is (always, not "typically") exactly one atom thick (otherwise it's just a plain chip of graphite). It is because it is exactly one atom thick that it has the interesting properties.

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