The first three-dimensional carbon nanotube circuits, made by researchers at Stanford University, could be an important step in making nanotube computers in the coming decade that could be faster and use less power than today’s silicon chips.

The Stanford nanotube arrays are some of the densest ever made, with five to 10 nanotubes per micrometer, and the design makes it possible to create more complex nanotube circuits. But 100 nanotubes per micrometer are needed to get really good performance, says H.-S. Philip Wong, professor of electrical engineering at Stanford.