IBM researchers announced that they have built the first complete electronic integrated circuit around a single carbon nanotube molecule. The new material is 50,000 times thinner than a human hair, and it could one day provide enhanced performance over today’s standard silicon semiconductors.

After 50 years of developing of electronic circuits on a single silicon chip and building smaller and smaller circuits, the scientists see an end to this capability looming. Now, they explore the use of nanotechnology as a means to keep the industry moving forward.

The researchers’ achievement is significant because the circuit was built using standard semiconductor processes and used a single molecule as the base for all components in the circuit, rather than linking together individually-constructed components. This can simplify manufacturing and provide the consistency needed to more thoroughly test and adjust the material for use in these applications.

“Carbon nanotube transistors have the potential to outperform state-of-the-art silicon devices,” said Dr. T.C. Chen, vice president, Science & Technology, IBM Research. “Now, we can evaluate the potential of carbon nanotube electronics in complete circuits – a critical step toward the integration of the technology with existing chip-making techniques.”

The field of nanotechnology involves the synthesis and assembly of new types of molecules and structures with dimensions measured in billionths of a meter. Looking like a microscopic roll of chicken wire, carbon nanotubes have unique properties that may allow them to carry higher current densities than the “pipes� currently used in today’s transistor and, with their smaller size, might allow for further miniaturization.

The circuit built by the IBM team was a ring oscillator – a circuit chip makers typically build to evaluate new manufacturing processes or materials. The circuit stresses certain properties that can give a good indication of how new technologies will perform when used to build complete chips. By integrating the complete circuit around a single nanotube, the IBM team observed circuit speeds nearly a million times faster than previously demonstrated circuits with multiple nanotubes. While this is still slower than the speeds obtained by today’s silicon chips, the IBM team believes that new nanofabrication processes will eventually unlock the superior performance potential of carbon nanotube electronics. The IBM scientists will now use the ring oscillator to test improved carbon nanotube transistors and circuits, and to gauge their performance in complete chip designs.