Apr 7, 2011 Graphene transistor shines on diamond-like substrate
Diamond-like carbon could be an ideal substrate for graphene
transistors. So say researchers in the US who have made advanced
devices with a record-high cut-off frequency of 155 GHz and the
shortest gate length ever of just 40 nm. The field-effect
transistors, which also function all of the way down to
temperatures as low as 4.3 K, operate at radio frequencies and
so could be used in wireless communications. Graphene is a flat
sheet of carbon just one atom thick that conducts electrons at
extremely high speeds. Indeed, the electrons behave like
relativistic particles with no rest mass. This, and other
unusual physical properties, means that graphene is often touted
to replace silicon as the electronic material of choice and
might be used to make faster transistors than any that exist
today. Transistors made from graphene could be used in radio-
frequency microelectronic devices for wireless communications.
These devices can be made by transferrin