Red Herring today reports on Stephen Chou’s latest improvement on a nanoimprinting technique he pioneered that promises to revolutionize the way computer chips are made.
Nanoimprinting greatly simplifies the production of computer microchips by creating molds that can emboss intricate patterns onto silicon chips. But air bubbles created during one type of nanoimprinting can distort the patterns in the molds. Now Chou has figured out a way to get rid of the bubbles.
Nanonex, the company founded by Chou to commercialize the technology, thusfar has sold primarily to laboratories. But Chou said that this latest development could make nanoimprinted chips feasible for the mass market. This has potentially huge implications, since nanoimprinting may accelerate Moore’s Law, which holds that the number of transistors on integrated circuits doubles every 18 months.
In 2003, MIT’s Technology Review identified nanoimprinting as one of “ten emerging technologies that will change the world.” Last month, Chou’s work was cited in a report in Science.
Chou’s latest breakthrough has been reported widely on the web. Best headline award goes to The Engineer Online for “Bursting the cheap-chip bubble barrier.” You can also read more on Eurekalert.
