Faster And Lighter Computers Possible With Nanotechnology

Faster And Lighter Computers Possible With Nanotechnology by Sri Lakshmi Hasthi 02/16/2004

Overview • Introduction • Argonne Research • IBM’s New Circuit Hails Nanocomputing • Nanorings • Smart Cards • Bending Light For Better Computers • Cheap Electronic Memory • Cooler Computers • More Advancements • Conclusions • References

Introduction • The past three decades of computer revolution was built on outstanding success of microtechnology. • Now is the idea of a powerful computer in the size of a watch or in a ring or just the size of the tip of a finger. • The idea of smaller, faster and cheaper computers was on its way with the help of Nano Technology. • A whole computer could be shrunk no bigger than a single electron Atom.

Argonne Research • Smaller, lighter computers and an end to worries about electric failures mark the potential result of Argonne research on tiny ferroelectric crystals. • RAM is fast, enabling your computer to make quick changes to whatever is stored there, but its chief drawback is its volatility. • Improved nano-engineered ferroelectric crystals could result in creation of nonvolatile RAM.

Argonne Research • Ferroelectric materials consist of crystals whose low low symmetry causes strong electric polarization along one or more of their axes. The application of voltage can change this polarity. • A strong external electric field can reverse the plus and minus poles of ferroelectric polarization. Auciello uses this unique system, at Argonne, to understand ferroelectric thin film growth and interface processes critical to fabrication of smart cards based on ferroelectric random access memories. Individual atoms can be detected as they land on a substrate surface.

Argonne Research • The crystals hold their orientation until forced by another applied electric field. • They can be coded as binary memory, representing “zero” in one orientation and “one” in other. • As the crystals do not revert spontaneously, RAM made with them would not be erased should there be a power failure. • The same machine could be configured like a Macintosh for tasks that a Mac OS performs best and like a PC when Windows OS is preferable

IBM’s New Circuit Hails Nanocomputing • IBM developed logic performing computer circuit made from a single molecule of carbon which could lead to a new class of smaller and faster computers that consume less power. • The IBM research team made the new circuit, called a “voltage inverter,”-from a nanotube. • Dr.Phadeon Avouris said "Carbon nanotubes are the top candidate to replace silicon when current chip features just cant be made any smaller. Such ‘silicon beyond’ nanotube electronics may then lead to unimagined progress in computing miniaturization and power”.

Design Of An Intra-molecular Logic Gate • Researchers encoded the entire inverter logic function along the length of a nanotube. • In this circuit, the output signal is stronger than the input, which allows gates and other circuit elements to be assembled into microprocessors. The picture shows the design of an intra-molecular logic gate. A single carbon nanotube (shaded in blue) is positioned over gold electrodes to produce two p-type carbon nanotube field-effect transistors in series. The device is covered by an insulated layer (PMMA) and a window is opened by e-beam lithography to expose part of the nanotube. Potassium is then evaporated through this window to convert the exposed p-type nanotube transistor into an n-type nanotube transistor, while the other nanotube transistor remains p-type.

Nanorings • Alexander Wei,a chemist at the Purdue University have come up with a simple and cheap solution to shrinking data storage—tiny magnetic rings from particles made of cobalt. • The rings are much less than 100 nanometers across and can store magnetic information at room temperature. Best of all, these nanorings form all on their own, a process known as self-assembly • The cobalt nanoparticles which form these rings are tiny magnets with north and south poles and they link up when they are brought close together thus assembling into rings. • Alexander Wei,a chemist at the Purdue University have come up with a simple and cheap solution to shrinking data storage—tiny magnetic rings from particles made of cobalt. • The rings are much less than 100 nanometers across and can store magnetic information at room temperature. Best of all, these nanorings form all on their own, a process known as self-assembly. • The cobalt nanoparticles which form these rings are tiny magnets with north and south poles and they link up when they are brought close together thus assembling into rings.

Nanorings • The magnetic dipoles produce a collective magnetic state known as flux closure. There is strong magnetic force within rings ,but after particles form rings, the net magnetic force is zero outside. • These rings are currently being considered as memory elements and magnetic RAMs. Magnetic rings reduce crosstalk and errors during data processing • Wei said “ Nonvolatile memory based on nanorings could in theory be developed. For the moment ,the nanorings are only a promising development”.

Nanorings PHOTO CAPTION:Shown are cobalt nanoparticles that have self-assembled into bracelet-like "nanorings." The rings' magnetic flux can be oriented in one of two directions – clockwise or counterclockwise – a characteristic that could represent binary numbers in magnetic memory devices. Because the flux direction remains even without a constant power supply, it is possible these rings could lead to so-called "non-volatile" computer memory, which would not be wiped out in the event of a system failure. (Graphic/VCH Publishers)

Smart Cards • Smart cards have proven to be quite as useful as a transaction/authorization medium in European countries and indeed they are tiny computers. • They will follow Moore’s law regarding processing power and cost. • They could become ultimate thin client eventually replacing all of the things we carry in our wallets. • These smart cards are size and shape of credit cards but contain ferroelectric memory that can carry substantial information.

Smart Cards • They hold information such as its bearer’s medical history • Unlike credit cards ,these memories do not come in contact with their readers and will not wear out. • Current smart cards carry about 250 kilobytes of memory. • Argonne researchers are collaborating with Colorado Springs,Colo.,Symetrics corp.

Various Smart Cards

Bending Light For Better Computers • Dr.Brett and his collaborators are now using GLAD to design new optical devices that could prove to be the route to better and faster computers run on light rather than on electricity. • We’ll have to shift to photons because of their advantageous properties. • We use optical fibers to guide light. But every time we bend light we lose some of it because some radiates out of the fiber. • Before photonic chips can be miniaturized, somebody has to discover a new way to guide and bend light over very small distances.

Cheap Electronic Memory • Engineers at Princeton University and Hewlett-Packard have invented a combination of materials that could lead to cheap and compact electronic memory devices. • The invention could result in a single-use memory card that permanently stores data. • This memory device combines the commonly used conductive polymer, which is inexpensive and easy to produce, with very thin-film, silicon based electronics.

Cheap Electronic Memory • “We are making a device that is organic and inorganic at the same time” said Stephen Forrest. • This device would be like a CD as well as like a conventional electronic memory chip. • Moller made the basic discovery behind the device by experimenting with polymer material called PEDOT. • A PEDOT based memory device would have a grid of circuits in which all the connections contain a PEDOT fuse.

Cheap Electronic Memory • A high voltage applied to any of the contact points blows that particular fuse . • 1 million bits of information could fit in a square millimeter of paper thin material • If formed as a block, the device could store more than one giga byte of information in one cubic centimeter which is about the size of a finger tip. • Developing this invention into commercially viable product might take at least 5 years

Cooler Computers • Cool Chips plc(COLCF) is developing a solid state cooling technology designed to solve thermal management problems • Cool chips are compact electronic devices similar in appearance to computer chips. • Application of electric field to chip results in hot and cold sides • This process of tunneling electrons through a one-way thermal trap door is more efficient than conventional refrigeration methods

What Makes Cool Chips Special? • While electrons are used to carry heat the material itself returns most of the heat through conduction. • In cool chips electrons move across a gap which is an excellent insulator. • With the addition of voltage bias, heat is transferred from one side to another and because of gap, heat cannot flow back.

Cool Chips Really cool chips are on their way shortly

More Advancements • Better data storage using multiwalled carbon nanotubes whose tips can write data onto polymer film. • The development of smallest 4-gigabit Flash memory. • An ADI (Analog Devices, Inc.) accelerometer can help prevent information loss in new hard drive protection technology

Conclusions • Disadvantages Atom bomb could be the size of a tennis ball. Over Population. Men can have babies. People can change themselves or reproduce another look. • Advantages Pollution free world. No more world Hunger. Safe, affordable and cheap space travel. Extinct plants and animals can be bought back.

References • http://www.albertaingenuity.ca/youth_education/cool_stories/bending_light.php • http://www.eurekalert.org/features/doe/2001-07/dnl-flc060602.php • http://www.sspsolutions.com/solutions/whitepapers/introduction_to_smartcards • http://nanotechwire.com/news_list.asp?ntid=123 • http://www.prweb.com/releases/2002/11/prweb49252.htm • http://maxpages.com/nanotechnology/Description • http://www.azonano.com/details.asp?ArticleID=365

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Faster And Lighter Computers Possible With Nanotechnology