The Great Quantum Computing Race

By Mark LaPedus - 26 Jul, 2021 - Comments: 0

Quantum computing is heating up, as a growing number of entities race to benchmark, stabilize, and ultimately commercialize this technology. As of July 2021, a group from China appears to have taken the lead in terms of raw performance, but Google, IBM, Intel and other quantum computer developers aren’t far behind. All of that could change overnight, though. At this point, it's too early t... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Feb. 16

By Jesse Allen - 16 Feb, 2021 - Comments: 0

Superconducting microprocessor Researchers at Yokohama National University created a superconducting processor with zero electrical resistance. Huge amounts of power are being used by computers today, and compared to the human brain, they are many orders of magnitude less efficient. Superconductors have been a popular approach to making computers more efficient, but this requires extreme co... » read more

System Bits: July 23

By Jeff Dorsch - 23 Jul, 2019 - Comments: 0

Superconductivity seen in trilayer graphene Stanford University and University of California at Berkeley researchers discovered signs of superconductivity in stacking three-layer sheets of graphene, they report. “It’s definitely an exciting development,” says Cory Dean, a physicist at Columbia University. Dean notes that bilayer graphene superconducts only when the atomic lattices of ... » read more

System Bits: Feb. 11

By Jeff Dorsch - 11 Feb, 2019 - Comments: 0

Modeling computer vision on human vision University of Michigan scientists used digital foveation technology to render images that are more comprehensible to machine vision systems, while also reducing energy consumption by 80%. The effect is achieved by manipulating a camera’s firmware. “It'll make new things and things that were infeasible before, practical,” Professor Robert Dick s... » read more

Do Superconducting Processors Really Need Cryogenic Memories?

By Rambus - 11 Apr, 2018 - Comments: 0

Cryogenic, superconducting digital processors offer the promise of greatly reduced operating power for server-class computing systems. This is due to the exceptionally low energy per operation of Single Flux Quantum circuits built from Josephson junction devices operating at the temperature of 4 Kelvin. Unfortunately, no suitable same-temperature memory technology yet exists to complement these... » read more

Tech Talk: Cryogenic DRAM

By Ed Sperling - 01 Jun, 2017 - Comments: 1

Rambus Chief Scientist Craig Hampel talks with Semiconductor Engineering about quantum computing and the power/performance benefits of running DRAM at extremely low temperatures. https://youtu.be/3qu2mspJeM0 » read more

System Bits: Jan. 24

By Ann Mutschler - 24 Jan, 2017 - Comments: 0

Modified carbon nanotubes used to track individual cells Carbon nanotubes come to the forefront of scientific research yet again, this time for serving as the most sensitive molecular sensing platforms available. MIT engineers believe they have designed sensors that, for the first time, can detect single protein molecules as they are secreted by cells or even a single cell. The sensors that... » read more

Not All Qubits Are Small

By Katherine Derbyshire - 30 Jun, 2014 - Comments: 1

While diamond nitrogen-vacancy centers offer one attractive implementation of quantum qubits, many other systems have been proposed. In theory, at least, any system with clearly identifiable quantum states can serve the purpose. The challenge lies in finding a system in which those states can be manipulated and measured by external forces and can be fabricated in large enough numbers for practi... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: May 20

By Ann Mutschler - 20 May, 2014 - Comments: 0

Visualizing complex electronic states While producing the first detailed visualization — down to the level of individual atoms — of exactly how a material called sodium manganese dioxide that has shown promise for use in electrodes in rechargeable batteries behaves during charging and discharging, a team of researchers led by MIT has explained an exotic molecular state that may help in und... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Dec. 31

By Ann Mutschler - 31 Dec, 2013 - Comments: 0

Approximate computing With the potential to double efficiency and reduce energy consumption, Purdue University and NEC Laboratories America researchers are developing computers capable of "approximate computing" to perform calculations good enough for certain tasks that don't require perfect accuracy. The need for approximate computing is driven by a fundamental shift in the nature of compu... » read more

Knowledge Centers
Entities, people and technologies explored

Shift Left Is The Tip Of The Iceberg

A transformative change is underway for semiconductor design and EDA. New languages, models, and abstractions will need to be created.

by Brian Bailey

Partitioning In The Chiplet Era

Understanding how chiplets interact under different workloads is critical to ensuring signal integrity and optimal performance in heterogeneous designs.

by Ann Mutschler

3.5D: The Great Compromise

Pros and cons of a middle-ground chiplet assembly that combines 2.5D and 3D-IC.

by Ed Sperling

AI’s Role In Chip Design Widens, Drawing In New Startups

Focus is on letting engineers do much more with the same or fewer resources — and less drudgery.

by Karen Heyman

Key Technologies To Extend EUV To 14 Angstroms

Alongside high-NA EUV will be better-performing photoresists, reduced roughness using passivation and etch, and lateral etching to reduce tip-to-tip dimensions.

by Laura Peters

What Comes After HBM For Chiplets

The standard for high-bandwidth memory limits design freedom at many levels, but that is required for interoperability. What freedoms can be taken from other functions to make chiplets possible?

by Brian Bailey

Memory Fundamentals For Engineers

eBook: Nearly everything you need to know about memory, including detailed explanations of the different types of memory; how and where these are used today; what's changing, which memories are successful and which ones might be in the future; and the limitations of each memory type.

by The SE Staff

Why Small Fab And Assembly Houses Are Thriving

Megafabs churning out the most advanced processors are not the only game in town.

by Bryon Moyer

tag: superconductivity