Indian researchers at the CeNSE and IISC have developed a platform that can be used to build next-gen devices. The memristor-based platform provides many more functionalities, allowing faster computations and error-free operations. It supersedes current state-of-the-art computing technologies by orders of magnitude. A new semiconductor is 47 times more efficient and 93 times faster than a standard CMOS circuit while taking up only nine percent of the available space. As a postdoctoral at CeNSEA, Santi Prasad Rath says: “In an Internet of Things, this computing technology can be very useful.”
- Researchers at the CeNSE, IISC have created a platform that can be used to create next-generation devices.
- A platform based on memristors adds many more features, allowing for faster computations and error-free operations. It vastly outperforms current cutting-edge computing technologies.
- A novel semiconductor is 47 times more efficient and 93 times faster than a standard CMOS circuit, while occupying only 9% of the available space.
- “This computing technology can be very useful in an Internet of Things,” says Santi Prasad Rath, a former postdoctoral researcher at CeNSEA.
Researchers at the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE), Indian Institute of Science, have developed a highly efficient computing platform that can be used to build next-gen devices. This technology can save energy and help develop next-gen devices.
Datacenter expansions have led to power shortages in many places, according to IISc.
Developing better and faster devices using less energy and materials to store and process large volumes of data is vital. Researchers used a circuit called memristors, which are like CMOS semiconductors but can store data and do computations.
By combining metal-organic complexes with other elements, the team could drastically reduce the number of components needed for a circuit, allowing faster computation and better battery life.
Researchers have created a molecular circuit capable of storing logic functions within it, enabling us to do computations much faster and using fewer components than usual. Computers normally use a huge amount of energy to communicate with each other, and because of that, they cannot produce devices with high speed and reliability. This way, the processing and storage functions can be performed on the same system. It supersedes current state-of-the-art computing technologies by orders of magnitude, says Goswami.
We can make more robust, stable and reliable devices even compared to traditional technologies like flash memory.
Some memristor-powered computers suffer from being slow, and errors can occur if they are not used repeatedly. The researchers say that the unique memristor-based platform provides many more functionalities, allowing faster computations and error-free operations. The complexes they used to build the platform were created by Sreebrata Goswami, a scientist at CeNSE who developed them.
They have the properties of a sponge that can hold electrons for billions of cycles and not degrade.
Researchers could make a single circuit that does several functions by changing tiny molecules in the complexes or by changing ions in the complexes.
When researchers built circuit boards to perform certain operations, they found that the new platform was 47 times more efficient and 93 times faster than a standard CMOS circuit while taking up only nine percent of the available space. Using the new platform, the researchers plan to work with an external sensor that senses when someone is touching the screen. They will then study how the system uses that information to make decisions. Santi Prasad Rath, formerly a postdoctoral at CeNSEA, who developed the technology with his colleague Deepak, says: “In an Internet of Things (IoT), this computing technology can be very useful.”
Scientists are working on a new kind of semiconductor – far faster than CMOS technology – because they think it will soon become ineffective or its performance will be severely limited. “We need new devices to allow us to achieve the super-fast computing speeds we want to achieve in the next few decades,” says Navakanta Bhat, a professor at CeNSE and an expert in CMOS technologies. This research shows that emerging molecular platforms outperform some aspects of CMOS technology. The fact that a high-speed CMOS device outperforms a mature platform is significant because it could help shape the future of our mission in semiconductor electronics.
What does a memristor do?
Memristors are electrical components that are gaining more and more attention in the world of electronics. They are becoming increasingly popular due to their unique properties. Memory circuits are circuits used in computer storage devices such as hard drives that store data by retaining charge instead of electricity. Memristors are considered to be devices that store information using the physical properties of materials.
A synapse is a connection, junction or bridge formed between neurons in the brain. A memristor is a device capable of changing the resistance levels of an electrical circuit based on an electrical or mechanical stimulus. Memristors could be the foundation of the flexible electronics systems that are expected to replace silicon-based electronics.
