Scientists switch on first carbon nanotube computer

摘要

In what could prove to be a significant step beyond silicon-based computing, scientists at Stanford University have unveiled the first computer processor built entirely from carbon nanotube-based transistors [Shulaker, M. M., et al., Nature 501 (2013)526]. The simple device, which relies on 178 carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (CNFETs) each containing ～10-200 nanotubes (Fig. 1), is comparable in capability to early Si microprocessors like the Intel 4004.