Light-Producing Nanotubes Could Mean Faster Chips

CannibalBob writes "From PCWorld: Researchers at IBM have used carbon molecules to emit light, a breakthrough that could replace silicon as the foundation of chips and lead to faster computers and telecommunication equipment. This is the first time light has ever been generated from a molecule by applying electricity. Read the article."

Doesn't everything now?

[JUSTONEMORELATTE]

...and lead to faster computers and telecommunication equipment.

Doesn't it seem like this catch-phrase is tacked onto every new discovery? Couldn't these folks just be making nifty flashlight bulb replacements? Does EVERYTHING need to give us faster computers?

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Re:First Time...

[aSiTiC]

I believe that the point is that a single molecule is emitting light. A light bulb utilizes billions of molecules of tungsten to emit light.

The whole point being that a carbon molecule/nanotube could be the equivalent of a light transistor in the optics world.

Re:First time?

[Anonymous Coward]

I believe they mean that the electricity directly creates light. In a regular light bulb, the electricity heats the element (tungsten in most cases), which then produces light from the heat. In chips, heat is a Bad Thing(tm), and getting it directly from electricity, and producing very little heat, would be a Good Thing(tm).

Mass Production

[L7_]

Pardon me for being skeptical (I am a theorist, not an experimentalist), but isn't there a revolutionary new 'Carbon Nano-tube Technology' every 2 months? I mean, how many of these technologies will be applicable with thier current specifications?

And not only that, but it seems that nano-tubes are not currently being mass produced in any reasonable way. If they are, why aren't more small graduate materials labratories basing research on them?

I'm not against plausible speculations to applied science, but it just seems that the carbon nano-tube technology is still in its beginning phases, and we won't see these 'small optical fibers' or any other applied devices anytime before 2020.

Heading in the right direction

[Paddyish]

Thursday's announcement won't translate into products for quite some time, Avouris said.

Yes. The article doesn't mention much about how light will be recieved (though I suspect it will just happen in the reverse - light will generate electricity), and it also fails to point out that with the immense complexity of today's chips, it wouldn't be just an easy jump to convert existing designs to accept light pathways over silicon. This would require a new industry apart from the semiconductor sector, with new designs following different physics and fabrication techniques. That may be a great thing, but 'years' is most certainly how far away it is right now.

Light

[56ksucks]

I once saw some cheesy scientist on the tonight show or letterman or whatever get light from a pickle! He stuck two forks in each end and connected each fork to the AC and the pickle lit up! I'm not sure what this has to do with computers but it was pretty cool!