Researchers at the University of Wales, Bangor, UK, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, USA, ate demonstrating that it might be possible to produce smaller; and therefore faster, integrated circuits using photons rather than focused light beams.Using 'quantum lithography' (quantum interferometric optical lithography to give it its full title), the researchers believe they can 'write' details about one eighth the size of the smallest details that are currently etched onto microchips under light beams-some 200 nm. At a resulting size of about 25 nm, the classical laws of physics are transcended and quantum effects supervene, opening up the possibility that an entire new class of computers could one day be created.
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