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GE Develops High Performance Carbon Nanotube Diode
Niskayuna NY (SPX) Jul 08, 2004 GE Global Research, the centralized research organization of the General Electric Company, announced the development of the world's best performing diode built from a carbon nanotube, which will enable smaller and faster electronic devices with increased functionality. The nano-diode is one of the smallest functioning devices ever made. The GE Nanotechnology Advanced Technology program reported its discovery in the cover story of the July 5, 2004 edition of "Applied Physics Letters." Diodes are fundamental semiconductor devices that form the basic building blocks of electronic devices, such as transistors, computer chips, sensors, and light emitting diodes (LEDs). Unlike traditional diodes, GE's carbon nanotube device has the ability for multiple functions - as a diode and two different types of transistors - which should enable it to both emit and detect light. "Just as silicon transistors replaced old vacuum tube technology and enabled the electronic age, carbon nanotube devices could open a new era of electronics," said Margaret Blohm, GE's advanced technology leader for nanotechnology. "We are excited about this breakthrough and we're eager to start developing new applications for the GE businesses." GE's breakthrough device comes very close to the theoretical limits of performance. Measured through the ideal diode equation, developed by Nobel Laureate William Shockley, GE's new diode has an "ideality factor" very close to one, which is the best possible performance for a diode. One possible application for GE is to use the device to build the next generation of advanced sensors that will have unsurpassed levels of sensitivity. For example, next generation sensors in security applications could detect potential terrorist threats from chemical and biological hazards, even if they are present in extremely small quantities. This would enable enhanced security at airports, office buildings and other public areas. The carbon nanotube diode was developed by Dr. Ji-Ung Lee, a scientist who works in the Nanotechnology Advanced Technology Program at the GE Global Research Center in Niskayuna, N.Y. More research is underway to enhance the carbon nanotube diode and increase the yield in the manufacturing process, but GE nanotechnology researchers believe this breakthrough could enable a range of important new applications in computing, communications, power electronics, and sensors. Related Links GE Global Research SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express
Tuning The Nanoworld
Berkeley CA (SPX) Jul 08, 2004Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have found new ways of combining quantum dots and segmented nanorods into multiply branching forms and have applied new ways to calculate the electronic properties of these nanostructures, whose dimensions are measured in billionths of a meter. |
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