NISKAYUNA, N.Y., July 7 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers have created the world's best performing diode built from a carbon nanotube, GE Global Research announced Wednesday.
The development will enable smaller and faster electronic devices with increased functionality.
The GE Nanotechnology Advanced Technology program reported its discovery in the cover story of the July 5 edition of Applied Physics Letters.
Diodes are fundamental semiconductor devices that form the basic building blocks of electronic devices, such as transistors, computer chips, sensors, and light emitting diodes.
Unlike traditional diodes, GE's carbon nanotube device has the ability for multiple functions -- as a diode and two different types of transistors -- which should enable it to both emit and detect light.
"Just as silicon transistors replaced old vacuum tube technology and enabled the electronic age, carbon nanotube devices could open a new era of electronics," said Margaret Blohm, GE's advanced technology leader for nanotechnology.
