A research team from IBM has a chip built in that are not silicon-based, but on graphene. That material must have higher speed than with silicon semiconductors is possible, but it is difficult to handle.
The IBM researchers say managed to be the world’s first integrated circuit with the graphene. They did that on a silicon-wafer, which would mean that the production on an industrial scale can be achieved. They published their work in the scientific journal Science. The graphene directly on SiC is produced, and the transistors and other components were means of six steps made. The resulting circuit, a broadband frequentiemixer, consists of a graphene transistor and two inductors.
The mixer, a key component for communication equipment, signals with frequencies up to 10GHz converting to lower frequencies. The graphene-circuit continued its work in addition to maximum temperatures of 125 degrees Celsius. The construction of the mixer circuit was part of the CERA program, a study by the American research department of Defense Darpa has been funded.
Graphene has been for several years a promising material for the production of very fast switching transistors and would as a successor of silicon may serve in certain applications. The process of the single carbon layer is, however, difficult shown: integration with metals and other required components is not easy and the yields of production, or the percentage of working circuits, are low.
