A computer circuit spanning just one molecule has been built, using aluminium and palladium to help power one of the world's smallest chip components.

Using nanotechnology US scientists have been able to create a circuit invisible to the naked eye and even a standard microscope, with the results published in journal Science.

Built from 12 transistors of aluminium and palladium, the circuit is housed by a single carbon nanotube in a circuit just 18 micrometres, or one millionth of a metre, long.

The product, know as a ring oscillator is described by IBM researcher Professor Joerg Appenzeller as a "very nice tool".

"It allows you to characterise transistor properties as you would use a speedometer to measure the speed of a car," he told the BBC news website.

While the device does not yet herald a shift from silicon processors used in personal computers, its developers say it is an important step in the next generation of computer technology.

Researchers from the University of Florida, Columbia University and IBM participated in the project.


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