

Graphene transistors promise 100GHz speeds - mcantelon
http://arstechnica.com/science/2010/02/graphene-fets-promise-100-ghz-operation.ars

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blackguardx
Graphene FETs are analog only. They can't be completely turned off like Si
FETs. The drain current can only be modulated, so you can't make traditional
digital circuits from them. Researchers are primarily investigating them for
use in really high frequency communication circuits, among other niche
applications. Don't expect a carbon Pentium any time soon.

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ajross
The article lacks depth. GaAs transistors can already switch into the 100+ GHz
range and have the notable advantage of being commercially producible. I'm
sure there's some good science here, and maybe some practical advantages. I
just don't see it in the linked text. Maybe someone who's read the paper in
_Science_ can comment?

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rthomas6
At what cost? If it's not commercially viable, it doesn't matter. If someone
could buy four processors clocked at half the speed for the same price, I
doubt the chips will be useful in most circumstances.

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technomancy
Dammit; how are we supposed to get people to learn FP techniques now without
the "we're going to be running on a hundred medium-speed CPUs in five years"
problem?

