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The physicists at UC San Diego that a year ago created the first integrated circuit using particles called excitons, now have discovered a technique that allows for operation at commercially cold temperatures.

This brings the possibility of a new type of extremely fast computer based on excitons closer to reality. When commercialized, the technology could speed computing and communications by better integrating electronic circuits and optical data communications.

Leonid Butov, a professor of physics at UCSD, is leading the research team that previously demonstrated an integrated circuit capable of working at 1.5 degrees Kelvin above absolute zero, or minus 457 degrees Fahrenheit. That temperature is less than the average temperature of deep space (-454.67 F), and achievable only in special research laboratories.

But now, the scientists report that they succeeded in building an integrated circuit that operates at 125 degrees Kelvin (minus 234 degrees Fahrenheit), a temperature that can be “easily” attained commercially with liquid nitrogen, a substance that costs about as much per liter as gasoline. The discovery is detailed in the latest online issue of the journal Nature Photonics.

Source: http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=1793