Atomic discovery opens door to greener, faster, smaller electronic circuitry

The research team found a way to delete and replace

a

out-of-place atoms that had been preventing new revolutionary circuitry designs from working. This unleashes a new kind of silicon chips for used in common electronic products, such as our phones and computers.

"For the first time, we can unleash the powerful properties inherent to the atomic scale," explained Wolkow, noting that printing errors on silicon chips are inevitable when working at the atomic scale. "We were making things that were close to perfect but not quite there. Now that we have the ability to make corrections, we can ensure perfect patterns, and that makes the circuits work. It is this new ability to edit at the atom scale that makes all the difference."

Think of a typing mistake and the ability to go back and white it out and type it again perfectly. Now imagine that the white out is actually single hydrogen atoms, allowing a level of precision previously unattainable.

"We can precisely erase any errors and reprint that atom in the correct place. It's not even a compromise like white out where you either have a gooey layer or indentation. It's actually perfect," said Wolkow, who worked with fellow scientists from the University of Alberta, the National Research Council, and Quantum Silicon Inc.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-07-atomic-discovery-door-greener-faster.html#jCp