IBM, following up from its manufacture of a transistor made out of graphene, has created an entire monolithic integrated circuit using fairly conventional electron beam lithography. The circuit is a broadband radio-frequency mixer, a fundamental component of radios — and as the project was funded by DARPA, the technology will likely find a home in high-frequency military communications equipment.

Over the next 10 years, as we reach the limits of silicon transistors, graphene FETs are expected to take over. Graphene transistors are thinner than their silicon cousins, more heat resistant, and are capable of operating at hundreds of gigahertz. IBM has built a transistor capable of 100GHz, and UCLA has managed 300GHz — and both research groups are confident than the terahertz range is possible. Temperature-wise, IBM’s graphene IC continued to perform well at temperatures up to 127 Celscius — some 20 or 30C above regular silicon.

The reason IBM (and DARPA) decided to make a radio-frequency mixer is because graphene is capable of handling frequencies that are usually out of range for conventional, silicon-based electronics. At the moment there are huge ranges of the radio spectrum which are simply unusable — but with graphene components, they become tamable. Much to the joy of network operators, graphene is also excellent at switching optical frequencies. In other words, if you think cable, Wi-Fi, and 3G are fast now, just wait until graphene routers and transceivers are installed.

We will still have to wait a few more years until graphene-powered consumer electronics are commercially available, though. IBM’s technique etches graphene circuits out of silicon-carbide wafers, which are incredibly expensive, and the method of attaching metallic contacts to the new transistors must be improved. In theory, however, it should be possible to create graphene components very cheaply and easily — and considering we only isolated this wonder material in 2004, we’re doing rather well.

Read more at IEEE Spectrum and The New York Times