Scaling Up Compute-In-Memory Accelerators


Researchers are zeroing in on new architectures to boost performance by limiting the movement of data in a device, but this is proving to be much harder than it appears. The argument for memory-based computation is familiar by now. Many important computational workloads involve repetitive operations on large datasets. Moving data from memory to the processing unit and back — the so-called ... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Dec. 23


Gallium oxide transistors At the recent IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), Cornell University and Hosei University presented a paper on a gallium oxide vertical transistor with a record breakdown voltage. Crystalline beta gallium oxide is a promising wide bandgap semiconductor material, which is used for power semiconductor applications. Gallium oxide has a large bandgap of... » read more

System Bits: Sept. 11


Everything’s faster in Texas The Frontera supercomputing system was formally unveiled last week at the Texas Advanced Computing Center. The system was deployed in June on the University of Texas at Austin campus. It is the fifth-fastest supercomputer in the world at present and the world's fastest academic supercomputer. Dell EMC and Intel collaborated on fitting out Frontera. Work beg... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Nov. 27


Hybrid solar for hydrogen and electricity Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory developed an artificial photosynthesis solar cell capable of both storing the sun's energy as hydrogen through water splitting and outputting electricity directly. The hybrid photoelectrochemical and voltaic (HPEV) cell gets around a limitation of other water splitting devices that shortchange... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: June 19


Cellulose nanopaper The Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in China has developed a new type of cellulose nanopaper (CNP). CNP is a renewable material with good mechanical and optical properties. Potentially, CNP could be used in several applications, such as electronic devices, visual display substrates, batteries and barrie... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Dec. 5


Intel vs. GlobalFoundries At the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) this week, GlobalFoundries and Intel will square off and present papers on their new logic processes. Intel will present more details about its previously-announced 10nm finFET technology, while GlobalFoundries will discuss its 7nm finFET process. As expected, Intel and GlobalFoundries will use 193nm immersi... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Oct. 10


5/2 fractional states Using a powerful magnet, Columbia University has observed a quantum particle in a bilayer graphene material, an event referred to as a 5/2 fractional quantum state. The observation could bring the industry closer to quantum computing. More specifically, researchers from Columbia said that they have observed “an anomaly in condensed matter physics—the even-denominat... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Aug. 8


Ferroelectric films Ferroelectric RAM (FRAM) is creating a buzz again. For years, FRAMs have been shipping for embedded applications, although the technology has taken a backseat to MRAM, phase-change and ReRAM. Using a ferroelectric capacitor to store data, FRAM is a nonvolatile memory with unlimited endurance. FRAM is faster than EEPROM and flash. FRAM performs an over-write function in ... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: June 20


Batteries from scrap metal Scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Jilin University found a method to transform rusty stainless steel mesh into electrodes with outstanding electrochemical properties that make them ideal for potassium-ion batteries. The rust is converted directly into a compact layer with a grid structure that can store potassium ions. A coating of reduced graphite... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 9


China’s quantum computer In its latest achievement, China has built a quantum computer. With its technology, the University of Science and Technology of China and Zhejiang University claimed to have set two records in quantum computing. In classical computing, the information is stored in bits, which can be either a “0” or “1”. In quantum computing, information is stored in quant... » read more

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