* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: CPU

Blobrana · L

Title: Geometry-dependent Casimir forces on a silicon chip
Authors: J. Zou, Z. Marcet, A. W. Rodriguez, M. T. H. Reid, A. P. McCauley, I. I. Kravchenko, T. Lu, Y. Bao, S. G. Johnson, H. B. Chan

We report measurements of the Casimir force gradient between two parallel silicon beams with near-square cross sections at separations down to \sim 260 nm. Both the force-sensing element and the actuator that controls the distance are integrated on the same substrate, with no need for manual alignment. Taking residual electrostatic forces into consideration, the measured Casimir force gradient agrees with the theoretical calculation based on the exact geometry. This scheme opens the possibility of tailoring the Casimir force using lithographically defined components of non-conventional shapes.

Read more (1285kb, PDF)

Blobrana · L

Printed photonic crystal mirrors shrink on-chip lasers down to size

Electrical engineers at The University of Texas at Arlington and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have devised a new laser for on-chip optical connections that could give computers a huge boost in speed and energy efficiency.
The team published its findings on July 22, 2012 in Nature Photonics.
At just 2 micrometers in height - smaller than the width of a human hair - the surface-emitting laser's vastly lower profile could make it cheaper and easier for manufacturers to integrate high-speed optical data connections into the microprocessors powering the next generation of computers.
Read more

Blobrana · L

Memristors

Blobrana · L

Field Programmable Gate Array

Blobrana · L

RE: CPU

alex · Member

The fundamental building blocks of all computing devices could be about to undergo a dramatic change that would allow faster, more efficient machines.

Researchers at computer firm Hewlett Packard (HP) have shown off working devices built using memristors - often described as electronics' missing link. These tiny devices were proposed 40 years ago but only fabricated in 2008. HP says it has now shown that they can be used to crunch data, meaning they could be used to build advanced chips. That means they could begin to replace transistors - the tiny switches used to build today's chips. And, crucially, the unique properties of memristors would allow future chips to both store and process data in the same device.

Read more

Blobrana · L

Faster, cheaper chips from space technology

Our world is full of integrated semiconductor circuits, commonly known as microchips. Today you find them in computers, cars, mobile phones and in almost every electrical device. Technology from ESA's XMM-Newton space telescope will make these chips much smaller, faster and cheaper.
The circuits are etched into todays microchips by ultraviolet light.
Read more

Blobrana · L

'Wet' computing systems to boost processing power

A new kind of information processing technology inspired by chemical processes in living systems is being developed by researchers at the University of Southampton.
Dr Maurits de Planque and Dr Klaus-Peter Zauner at the University's School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) are working on a project which has just received 1.8 million euros from the European Union's Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Proactive Initiatives, which recognises ground-breaking work which has already demonstrated important potential.
The researchers, Dr de Planque, a biochemist, and Dr Zauner, a computer scientist, will adapt brain processes to a 'wet' information processing scenario by setting up chemicals in a tube which behave like the transistors in a computer chip
Read more

Blobrana · L

Intel Shows 48-core x86 Processor as Single-chip Cloud Computer

Intel unveiled a completely new processor design today the company is dubbing the "Single-chip Cloud Computer" (but was previously codenamed Bangalore). Justin Rattner, the company's CTO, discussed the new product at a press event in Santa Clara and revealed some interesting information about the goals and design of the new CPU.
Read more