A new type of carbon called Graphene, which was recently dubbed "remarkable" by BBC News, has been highlighted as a "strong candidate" to replace the semiconductor chip in high-speed electronics.
The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) issued a statement this week, in which it claimed the one-atom thick material "could be the solution" to the problem caused by the limits of silicon and other transistor materials currently in use.
Under Moore's Law, every two years the density of transistors on integrated circuits doubles.
However, the NPL suggested it will only be possible for this to continue in the longer term if a material like Graphene is used, as silicon and other alternatives are thought to be "close to the minimum size where they can remain effective".
A paper published earlier this month in Nature Nanotechnology outlines how scientists have advanced Graphene to the stage where it where it can now be "practically developed".