IBM eyeing DNA for new microchips
- Source: Global Times
- [23:58 August 17 2009]
- Comments
IBM is looking to the building blocks of our bodies – DNA – to create the structure of next-generation microchips.
As chipmakers compete to develop smaller chips at cheaper prices, designers are struggling to cut costs.
Artificial DNA nano structures, or "DNA origami,"may provide a cheap framework on which to build tiny microchips, according to a paper published Sunday in the Nature Nanotechnology journal.
"This is the first demonstration of using biological molecules to help with processing in the semiconductor industry," IBM research manager Spike Narayan said. "This is telling us that biological structures actually offer some very reproducible, repetitive kinds of patterns that we can actually leverage in semiconductor processes."
The research was undertaking by scientists at IBM's Almaden Research Center and the California Institute of Technology.
Narayan said that if the DNA-origami process scales to production-level, manufacturers could trade hundreds of millions of dollars in complex tools for less than $1 million worth of polymers, DNA solutions and heating implements.
But the new processes are expected to be at least 10 years out.
