HP Researchers Tout A Chip Breakthrough As Door To Tiny PCs; But Any Payoff Is Years Away; Crossbar latch circuitry may solve physical limit problem facing transistor chips now.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)

Byline: KEN SPENCER BROWN

Hewlett-Packard scientists have reason to be proud of their recent nanotech circuitry breakthrough, which could shrink computers to barely imaginable sizes.

But even the most thrilled engineers there caution that any payoff from the discovery is years away, if ever.

"We have right now a laboratory demonstration of a single device," said Duncan Stewart, one of the three HP engineers behind the discovery, which they announced on Monday. "What's next is doing something useful."

The HP researchers say they've invented a new type of computer circuit called a crossbar latch. The mechanism -- a tiny wire that crosses two others to form one type of computer logic -- could render the transistor obsolete.

In theory, the technology will let engineers leapfrog current physical limitations to continue making chips smaller and faster for many more years.

The crossbar latch performs a basic function considered the missing link in super-small circuits.