Graphene-powered web could download 3-D movies in seconds, give MPAA nightmares

Graphene, is there anything it can't do? Researchers are already trying to put it in processors, fuel cells, and batteries -- now your internet connection might get ten-times faster thanks to the silicon successor. Researchers at UC Berkeley have created tiny, one-atom-thick modulators that could switch the data-carrying light on and off in a fiber-optic connection much faster than current technology. In addition to running at a higher frequency (the team believes it will scale up to 500GHz -- modern modulators run at about 1GHz) the smaller, 25-micron size means thinner cables could be used, reducing capacitance and further boosting speeds. Labs have already crossed the 100 terabit threshold and graphene could push that even higher, yet we're still stuck staring at a buffering screen every time we try to Netflix Degrassi.

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Graphene-powered web could download 3-D movies in seconds, give MPAA nightmares originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 May 2011 05:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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