Interesting result. Even more if they can replace a metal mask layer with this, although given the requirements for growing it I'm guessing it would be a huge challenge to put it on top.
I like the implication that there is less difference between photons and fermions than we think.
I think the analogy used between the electron and photon travel was just that, an analogy with no real world implications. And that other statement (at the end of the article) about new physics was made too quick.
From the looks of it, they've just found that the mechanism that produces the drift velocity of electrons in normal wires has no relationship to the way electrons travel in these nanoribbons of graphene...
Their models probably used or were related (or based on) bounce and repel type algorithms that do not apply fully to this very special edge-case scenario.
In fiber optic cables photons travel close to the speed of light (50% of it or more) by reflection and the waveguide effect.
In normal metal wires electrons travel something like a few mm or cm per second, minute, or even hour (averaged out) - because they are all bouncing against one another.
In these nano-wires / ribbons there is little electron bounce, and some wave-guide like travel channels present... It has properties of both metal wires and fiberoptics... But the electrons are still typical electrons.
At the end of the day, there is still a fundamental difference between packets of energy (that some say are nothing more than vibrations traveling through whatever dimension) and elementary particles.
If electrons only traval a few mm or cm a sec how can I ping a server in Europe an fractions of a sec? I know much of the internet is fiber but surely there is a lot of copper there to. Could you explian?
You have to distinguish between "Electron Travel" and "Signal Propagation".
Take a 10 ft plastic pipe of the same diameter as ping-pong balls.
Fill this pipe from start to end sequentially and fully with ping-pong balls.
Now stick your finger in one end.
While you only moved the ping-pong balls a few inches, almost immediately a ping-pong ball will come out the other end... The "signal" "traveled" at a much faster speed than the actual ping-pongs.
Sending signals via electrons through wires is fundamentally different then sending photons through fibers.
To visualize electrical signals, imagine a tube completely full of balls. When you push a new ball into one end, a different ball comes out the other. The effect of adding the ball is seen very quickly (i.e. a change in the field), but the speed the ball moves through the tube (i.e. how fast electrons move through the conductor) is quite different.
Graphene has the potential to be used as poly or substrate. Much more relevant than replacing metal, but I don't know of anybody that could grow anything over it. (Maybe it's just a matter of doing it upside-down? How are modern fabs losing precision with added layers?)
I don't get why you see less difference. Fermions can have balistic trajectories too, that's not news.
Replacing metal could be a very big deal too. Chips are mostly power-limited these days; slashing the resistance of the metal layers would be a big active power win. In fact, while it would not help leakage (which constrains how many transistors you can pack in), improving active power consumption could correlate directly to improvements in operating frequency...
I like the implication that there is less difference between photons and fermions than we think.