According to a paper titled "Placement and orientation of DNA nanostructures on lithographically patterned surfaces", co-authored by IBM and Caltech scientists, IBM working towards giving Moore's Law a futuristic edge, via the development of DNA-based chip-building technology.

The paper, to be published in the September issue of Nature Nanotechnology, says that IBM is developing a chip-building technology that would use a DNA-like structure as a "scaffold." The technology is noteworthy because, with chip geometries becoming microscopic, the IBM effort might help make sub-22-nanometer lithography - down to 6 nanometers - exceedingly feasible.

For over forty years, chip-makers have consistently shrunk chip geometries, going by the Moore's Law, which - described in 1965, by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore - states that 'the number of transistors that can be placed on an integrated circuit doubles roughly every two years.'

But, of late, chip-makers have felt that implementing the law would not be viable in future, given chips with geometries below 22 nanometers.

However, IBM says that its DNA-based chip technology - the "scaffolding" approach - can prove to be extension of Moore's law, elaborating thus: "DNA nanostructures can serve as scaffolds, or miniature circuit boards, for the precise assembly of components, such as carbon nanotubes, nanowires, and nanoparticles."

As such, IBM reiterates that the combination of self-assembly with present-day fabrication technology would finally lead to substantial savings in the chip-making process!