Electronic circuitry takes a quantum leap down in size

Bent Weber, a doctoral student in the ARC Center of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, has developed a conductive silicon wire that is one atom tall and just four atoms wide—yes, the smallest such wire ever made, according to a university news release issued Jan. 6.

“Interconnecting wiring of this scale will be vital for the development of future atomic-scale electronic circuits,” Weber said of his research, which was featured in the Jan. 6 issue of Science. Weber's research, according to the study published in Science, has shown that the conductive silicon wire has the same electrical current carrying capability of copper wire.

ARC Center Director Michelle Simmons, who lead the research, said Weber's discovery indicates that electronic circuitry in silicon can shrink to atomic scale without loss of functionality.

For an animated demonstration of the discovery and a brief interview with Weber and Simmons, view the university's video report below.