In June 2011, IBM researchers announced the design of a high-speed graphene circuit. In 2010, IBM produced a working transistor with graphene - a great achievement since graphene is not a natural semiconductor. Despite the technical challenges, this first working graphene transistor operated at twice the speed of a comparable silicon transistor.
A working transistor means nothing unless it is integrated into a circuit, implying that a number of transistors are linked to perform a task. In this instance, IBM scientists constructed a broadband radio frequency mixer that is used in radio applications to process signals at a range of frequencies. It is a standard IC component and this achievement shows that graphene transistors can be used effectively in more complex systems.
IBM overcame a number of challenges to make this possible, including protecting the ultra-thin graphene layer during the etching process with electron beam lithography, which is a standard process for creating nanoscale features in silicon-based electronics. Though this is in the prototype stage, if IBM is able to commercially produce graphene transistors, it will change the face of electronics.