IBM Preps Graphene For High-Frequency Chips
A material called graphene has been making lots of headlines in science journals, and is sometimes even discussed as a potential successor to silicon in computer chips. IBM doesn’t buy that prediction, but is still betting big on the substance.
The computer maker Thursday said it built an integrated circuit from graphene that operates at up to 10 gigahertz, suggesting even higher frequencies were possible–-up in the ranges favored for applications like military communications.
Perhaps more significantly, IBM said the research showed proved that graphene can be fabricated on a wafer–-the technique used in making ordinary chips–-and that a graphene transistor can be bonded with components made with conventional materials. Those have been big challenges in working with the material so far.
