Communications of the ACM
New Research Could Mean Faster Computers and Better Smart Phones
Credit: Aurich Lawson
University of Gothenburg researchers have found that graphene and carbon nanotubes could help reduce the size and power consumption of electronic circuits. "If you stretch a graphene sheet from end to end the thin layer can oscillate at a basic frequency of getting on for a billion times a second," says Gothenburg's Anders Nordenfelt. "This is the same frequency range used by radios, mobile phones, and computers." He says the limited size, weight, and unique properties of the carbon materials could improve the electronics of devices.
Graphene and carbon nanotubes can pick up radio signals because they have high mechanical resonance frequencies. "The question is whether they can also be used to produce this type of signal in a controlled and effective way," Nordenfelt says. "This assumes that they themselves are not driven by an oscillating signal that, in turn, needs to be produced by something else."
Nordenfelt carried out a mathematical analysis to demonstrate that it is possible to connect the nanowire with an electronic circuit, apply a magnetic field, and get the nanowire to self-oscillate mechanically.
From University of Gothenburg
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