Graphene electronics moves into a third dimension 03 Feb 2012 Wonder material graphene has been touted as the next silicon, with one major problem – it is too conductive to be used in computer chips. Now scientists from The University of Manchester have given its prospects a new lifeline. In a paper published this week in Science, a Manchester team lead by Nobel laureates Professor Andre Geim and Professor Konstantin Novoselov has literally opened a third dimension in graphene research. Their research shows a transistor that may prove the missing link for graphene to become the next silicon. Graphene – one atomic plane of carbon – is a remarkable material with endless unique properties, from electronic to chemical and from optical to mechanical. One of many potential applications of graphene is its use as the basic material for computer chips instead of silicon. Unfortunately, those transistors cannot be packed densely in a computer chip because they leak too much current, even in the most insulating state of graphene. Notes for editors
Single-atom transistor is end of Moore's Law; may be beginning of quantum computing The smallest transistor ever built -- in fact, the smallest transistor that can be built -- has been created using a single phosphorus atom by an international team of researchers at the University of New South Wales, Purdue University and the University of Melbourne. The single-atom device was described Sunday (Feb. 19) in a paper in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. Michelle Simmons, group leader and director of the ARC Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication at the University of New South Wales, says the development is less about improving current technology than building future tech. "This is a beautiful demonstration of controlling matter at the atomic scale to make a real device," Simmons says. "Fifty years ago when the first transistor was developed, no one could have predicted the role that computers would play in our society today. "To me, this is the physical limit of Moore's Law," Klimeck says. Simmons says this control is the key step in making a single-atom device.
Superbugs from space offer new source of power Bacteria normally found 30km above the earth have been identified as highly efficient generators of electricity. Bacillus stratosphericus – a microbe commonly found in high concentrations in the stratosphere orbiting the earth with the satellites – is a key component of a new 'super' biofilm that has been engineered by a team of scientists from Newcastle University. Isolating 75 different species of bacteria from the Wear Estuary, Country Durham, UK, the team tested the power-generation of each one using a Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC). By selecting the best species of bacteria, a kind of microbial "pick and mix" they were able to create an artificial biofilm, doubling the electrical output of the MFC from 105 Watts per cubic metre to 200 Watts per cubic metre. While still relatively low, this would be enough power to run an electric light and could provide a much needed power source in parts of the world without electricity. Among the 'super' bugs was B. As well as B.