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Moore's Law says that chipmakers can double the number of transistors on a
silicon chip every 2 years, enabling the industry to shrink the size of
computers as well as reduce cost while improving their performance. But what
happens when traditional silicon transistors cannot be shrunk in size any
longer?
With a recent breakthrough in making circuits with molecules, Hewlett-Packard
hopes to change chip history. Researchers here have created devices called
crossbar latches that can be used to perform calculations in microprocessors,
the same function silicon transistors perform now. The one difference is that
crossbar latches, which consist of a grid of microscopic wires linked by
molecules at their intersections are far smaller and, potentially, far cheaper
to make. HP has already shown how crossbar latches can be used in memory.
 "This is the final piece of the puzzle for building a molecular
computer," said Phil Kuekes, senior computer architect and primary inventor
at HP's Quantum Science Research (QSR) unit. HP is so confident of its
technology that it is aiming to get elements of crossbar technology incorporated
into 32-nanometer chips, which will hit commercially in 2011 or 2012.
From www.news.com
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