Graphene is a material discovered about four years ago and it consists of a single layer of graphite. Now, a team of researchers from the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manchester managed to develop world’s smallest transistor using this innovative material.

Some scientists say that this material can replace the silicon in the next years. A transistor is an of/off switch and is indispensable for microchips and for most of electronics. The leaders of the research were Dr Kostya Novoselov and Professor Andre Geim, both from Manchester’s School of Physics.

Their transistor measures about one atom thick and ten atoms wide. The graphene will be used for LCD displays because it’s very thin which makes it transparent and another advantage is the fact that it’s a good conductor. For the future, the researchers say that could help to the manufacturing of solar panels and transparent window coatings.

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