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Experts generally predicted that within 20 years, the performance of computing device core processor will touch the physical limits of silicon-based chips, Moore Theorem will come to an end. Recently, a major scientific discovery has found a very different way of manufacturing computing devices and is expected to break this limit.
This breakthrough discovery came from materials scientists at IBM Research. They found ways to convert natural insulators, metal oxide materials, into conductive metals. Even better, this process is reversible.
Stuart Parkin, an IBM Research fellow, said that converting insulators to conductors or converting conductors to insulators is actually nothing new. The difference found by the agency is that the conversion of these states is stable, and even if the power supply flowing through these materials is turned off, this change of state remains stable. This is the great thing about this discovery.
Its significance is that whether it is a mobile device, a desktop computer, a server, or others, it is inseparable from a key problem: the power efficiency is extremely low, and the amount of heat generated is huge. Today, using IBM's technology, computing chips do not require continuous power supply, and heating problems are solved.
As an ordinary computing device user, it may be plagued by the following problems every day: the battery of the mobile phone does not hold for one day; the heat emitted by the notebook burns your thighs; the PC fan makes a noisy squeak to make you not clean. Data center software administrators and hardware architects are more keenly aware of the impact of power inefficiencies, because a large number of servers there will consume more power and generate more heat. This heat in turn acts on the cooling system and consumes more electricity.
There are many reasons for low power efficiency, and it is undoubtedly a fundamental reason that silicon-based chips must be powered at all times while working. When current flows through the very tiny transistors of the processor's internal processor, current leakage is inevitable. At the same time, both the active transistor and the leaking current generate heat. This heat must not be underestimated. If not equipped with heat sinks, water cooling or fan cooling systems, this heat is enough to melt the processor.
IBM Research says that today's computers use switching transistors to process information and generate binary "1"s and "0"s. In this way, the operation of the processor depends on the two states of the transistor: on or off, "1" or "0", but it is inseparable from the action of the current. But think about it, if you can switch transistors with “microburst†currents instead of relying on continuous current, this will save huge power and generate much less heat.
For these assumptions, the IBM Research team claims that the variable-state metal oxides they developed can be implemented. Parkin explained that this ultra-low-power working method is similar to the cross-synaptic contact between human brain neurons. The processing power of the human brain is far superior to that of today's computing devices, but it consumes only one millionth of the latter's energy.
The significance is very clear. Adding this kind of technology can be improved and applied to the actual processor and memory chip, then it will spawn a whole new class of electronic equipment. The demand for such equipment is almost zero. Imagine if a smartphone had this technology, although the screen, speakers, and wireless modules still needed power, the power consumption of the processor and memory chips would be negligible.
IBM's discovery needs to be applied to practice and requires a lot of research and practice. Parkin explained that in order to achieve a stable state transition, the liquid used needs to have features that enable more efficient use of nanochannels for delivery, which is the focus of his and her colleagues' current research.
After all, IBM's breakthrough is one of the many potential technologies before the next generation of computer revolutions, and it remains to be proved whether or not it will succeed. However, it is certain that the improvement of silicon-based chip performance will be limited by physical limits. It is true that the era of silicon-based chips may be passing, but we have other emerging technologies to replace it. Now, let's first think of a new name for Silicon Valley!
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