Scientists have created a transistor in a computer chip that is 10 times smaller than those commonly in use now, marking the start of a new age of super-fast, super-powerful computing.

At the heart of the electronic device is a "quantum dot" (pictured above), which measures just four-billionths of a metre — so small that it contains just seven atoms, compared to the millions that make up a typical laptop chip.

The tiny seven-atom quantum dot created by scientists (left), with a close-up of that dot forming an atomic-scale transistor (right).

The technical breakthrough is reported today in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

The paper's co-author, Michelle Simmons, said the achievement marked the first time scientists had been able to dictate the placement and behaviour of single atoms within a transistor.