University of Illinois scientists said nanotube radios, in which nanotube devices provide all of the active functionality, represent "important first steps toward the practical implementation of carbon-nanotube materials into high-speed analog electronics and other related applications."

Professor John Rogers said the nanotube radios were achieved in collaboration with radio frequency electronics engineers at Northrop Grumman Electronics Systems in Linthicum, Md.

The research, funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy, has been accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and is to appear in that journal's early online edition next week.