International Business Machines Corp is looking to the building blocks of our bodies - DNA to be the structure of next generation microchips. As chip makers compete to develop ever smaller chips at cheaper prices, designers are struggling to cut costs. Artificial DNA nano structures or "DNA Origami" may provide a cheap framework on which to build tiny microchips according to a paper published on Sunday in the Journal Nature Nanotechnology. As per IBM research manager this is a first demonstration of using biological molecules to help with processing in the semiconductor industry. Basically, this is telling us that biological structures like DNA actually offer some very reproducible, repetitive kinds of patterns that we can actually leverage in semiconductor processes, he said. The research was a joint undertaking by scientists at IBM's research centre and California institute of technology. Right now, the tinier the chip, the more expensive the equipment. If the DNA origami process scales to production level, manufacturers could trade hundreds of millions of dollars in complex tools for less than a million dollars of polymers, DNA solutions and heating implements. The saving across many fronts could add up significantly. But the new processes are at least ten years out, that while the DNA origami could allow chip makers to build frame works that are far smaller than possible with conventional tools, the technique still needs years of experiment and testing. Lithography is a common method of asking computer chips that have shrunk to contain technology measuring a mere 22 nanometers. The DNA origami method can allow for chip features as light as 6 nanometers according to IBM. DNA origami chips would have vastly increased data storage capacity and lead to power smaller, faster, smarter devices said the computer giant.
