Thinnest silicon-chip wires

Now, Michelle Simmons of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and colleagues have etched channels in a silicon chip just 1.5 nanometres wide that behave just like larger wires.

The trick was to infuse them with phosphorus atoms, which provide electrons that can move freely and conduct electricity, turning each channel into a wire. Because the entire wire, except for its ends, was enclosed in the silicon, it was isolated from other surfaces that could disrupt its conductivity.