Researchers at the University of Manchester have announced a single-electron transistor made out of graphene, a single sheet of graphite only one atom thick.

The researchers’ device, which is the first single-electron transistor to operate at room temperature, offers evidence that graphene is a promising alternative to silicon.

When most metals are shrunk to the size of quantum dots–about two to three nanometers wide–they become fragile and move around. Graphene quantum dots, however, are stable at room temperature and can even withstand high electrical current.