Nano-Computing

Image taken from picpok.blogspot.com

The history of computer technology has involved a sequence of changes from gears to relays to valves to transistors to integrated circuits and so on. Today's techniques can fit logic gates and wires a fraction of a micron wide onto a silicon chip. Soon the parts will become smaller and smaller until they are made up of only a handful of atoms. At this point the laws of classical physics break down and the rules of quantum mechanics take over, so the new quantum technology must replace and/or supplement what we presently have. It will support an entirely new kind of computation with new algorithms based on quantum principles.

Presently our digital computers rely on bits, which, when charged, represent on, true, or 1. When not charged they become off, false, or 0. A register of 3 bits can represent at a given moment in time one of eight numbers (000,001,010,...,111). In the quantum state, an atom (one bit) can be in two places at once according to the laws of quantum physics, so 3 atoms (quantum bits or qubits) can represent all eight numbers at any given time. So for x number of qubits, there can be 2^x numbers stored. (I will not go into the logic of all this or this paper would turn into a book!). Parallel processing can take place on the 2^x input numbers, performing the same task that a classical computer would have to repeat 2^x times or use 2^x processors working in parallel. In other words a quantum computer offers an enormous gain in the use of computational resources such as time and memory. This becomes mind boggling when you think of what 32 qubits can accomplish.

This all sounds like another purely technological process. Classical computers can do the same computations as quantum computers, only needing more time and more memory. The catch is that they need exponentially more time and memory to match the power of a quantum computer. An exponential increase is really fast, and available time and memory run out very quickly.

Quantum computers can be programed in a qualitatively new way using new algorithms. For example, we can construct new algorithms for solving problems, some of which can turn difficult mathematical problems, such as factorization, into easy ones. The difficulty of factorization of large numbers is the basis for the security of many common methods of encryption. RSA, the most popular public key cryptosystem used to protect electronic bank accounts gets its security from the difficulty of factoring very large numbers. This was one of the first potential uses for a quantum computer.

"Experimental and theoretical research in quantum computation is accelerating world-wide. New technologies for realising quantum computers are being proposed, and new types of quantum computation with various advantages over classical computation are continually being discovered and analysed and we believe some of them will bear technological fruit. From a fundamental standpoint, however, it does not matter how useful quantum computation turns out to be, nor does it matter whether we build the first quantum computer tomorrow, next year or centuries from now. The quantum theory of computation must in any case be an integral part of the world view of anyone who seeks a fundamental understanding of the quantum theory and the processing of information." ( Quantum Computer)

In 1995 there was a $100 bet made to create the impossible within 16 years, the world's first nanometer supercomputer. This resulted in the NanoComputer Dream Team, and utilizes the internet to gather talent from every scientific field and from all over the world, amateur and professional. Their deadline: November 1, 2011. Watch for it! Are you ready for a computer that is billions of times faster than our present PC's?

Read More

_____________________________________________________________________

.Future of Computers      .DNA Computers      .Optical Computers 

.Holographic Storage Technology      .Quantum Computers

.Quantum Computing Reaches for True Power    

.Solid State Storage Technologies     .Protonic Memory   

.Molecular switches computers    .Nano-Computing

.Very Long Instruction Word Processors (VLIW)   

.Electronic Digital Paper     .Plastic Displays    

.Roentgen Display Technology    .Augmented reality

_____________________________________________________________________

Molecular switches computers

Jason Ford

Research from Penn State University and Rice University indicates that future computers may contain components that function on the action of single molecules.

According researchers at Penn State and Rice University, specially designed single molecules can switch between 'off' and 'on' states. In addition, conformational changes, which happen when molecules alter their arrangement by rotation of their atoms around a single bond, determine how and when that conductance switching occurs in those molecules.

The researchers determined that limiting conformational changes reduces switching between the 'on' and 'off' states. So, just as squeezing a lot of people into a small room limits their ability to move freely, researchers determined the same thing was happening at a much smaller scale with molecules. Conformational changes do not occur as frequently when the molecules have less room to move in their host environment, or matrix.

Because switching provides the basis of logic and memory in computer systems, the discovery of what causes such switching in single molecules may help researchers move closer to making molecular computers a reality.

'We essentially tightened the noose around the molecule and showed that once its motion was reduced switching went way down,' said Paul Weiss, associate professor of chemistry at Penn State.

'Our next step is figuring out how to control the molecules' movement between 'on' and 'off.' In bundles of thousands of molecules, our collaborator, Mark Reed, in electrical engineering at Yale University, and his group, have been able accomplish movement between the states.'

According to the research, a dense, well-ordered matrix inhibits the rate at which conductance switching occurs among single molecules within that matrix.

In a loose, poorly ordered matrix, those same molecules switch between 'on' and 'off' much more frequently. Researchers tracked the molecules' movement between 'on' and 'off' using scanning tunnelling microscopy in matrices of alkanethiolate monolayers.

The molecules, known as phenylene ethynylene oligomers and comprised of alternating benzene rings and two carbon atoms with triple bonds between them and a functional group on the central of three rings, were the first single molecules to have their switching documented.

'It had been predicted that single molecules did not switch, but we proved they did and we identified at least part of the mechanism,' Weiss said. 'Two important advances are determining the limit at one molecule and establishing that its persistence time - the length of time information can be held in a switch at room temperature - can be hours.'

Researchers found the molecules that underwent conformational changes remained anchored in the same spot on the matrices and that the molecules' apparent size in images changed when they switched.

They appeared to stand higher in the matrix when they were 'on,' lower when they were 'off,' and the respective states lasted as long as 26 hours, which indicated changes in conductance.

Also, while the research on 10,000 molecules at once showed that groups of molecules could be switched at will, the researchers focusing on single molecules proved they could turn the molecules off, but turning them on was more problematic.

'Clearly, we have an indication it can be done,' Weiss said. 'It's just a matter of setting up the experiment in the most efficient manner.'

Read More

_____________________________________________________________________

.Future of Computers      .DNA Computers      .Optical Computers 

.Holographic Storage Technology      .Quantum Computers

.Quantum Computing Reaches for True Power    

.Solid State Storage Technologies     .Protonic Memory   

.Molecular switches computers    .Nano-Computing

.Very Long Instruction Word Processors (VLIW)   

.Electronic Digital Paper     .Plastic Displays    

.Roentgen Display Technology    .Augmented reality

_____________________________________________________________________

Protonic Memory

Protonic Computer Memory Remembers Information When Power Goes Off 
One of the most horrifying  moment of the computer age is to be working on a document not yet saved to the hard drive "memory" and lose everything because of a power outage or a screen freeze-up that forces the operator to shut down the computer.

Attempts to create circuits that save what's "up" on a screen have used high voltages, which quickly wears down computer electronic components, and have been expensive.

Now scientists at Sandia National Laboratories and France Telecom have applied for a patent on a prototype memory-retention device that is inexpensive, low-powered, and simple to fabricate.

The device, referred to as "protonic," is reported in today's issue of the journal Nature.

To transmit data, the device uses embedded protons, which remain where they are when the power turns off, thus preserving the information. In devices such as D-RAMs (dynamic random access memory), typically based on electron flow, the information is lost when the power is turned off.

To create the memory-retentive chip, only a few steps must be added to the hundreds currently used to fabricate microchips. The key additional step is to bathe the hot microchip in hydrogen gas. The gas, permeating the chip, breaks up into single ions -- i.e., protons -- at defects in the silicon dioxide. (The defects were created by the heat of the manufacturing process) The protons can roam only within the chip's central layer of silicon dioxide, where they are trapped by two layers of silicon that sandwich the silicon dioxide.

The Sandia researchers found that:

• A positive low-voltage applied to one side of the silicon repels the protons to the far side of the silicon dioxide.
• A negative low-voltage applied to the silicon attracts the protons to the near side of the silicon dioxide.

If the power is turned off, the protons stay where they are, retaining information in the chip circuit.

Development of the process had its origin on the back of a napkin at an IEEE conference in December 1995 in Charleston, S.C. The discussion, subsequent work, and patent involved Sandians Bill Warren (principal investigator), Karel Vanheusden, Dan Fleetwood, and, at France Telecom, Roderick Devine.

First observation of the effect that protons remain in silicon when it is baked at high temperatures in hydrogen gas came as part of a systematic study at Sandia and France Telecom of the effects of hydrogen on silicon.

"For defense reasons, we're always interested in radiation-hardened, low-voltage chips," said Fleetwood.

The work is funded by Sandia's Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program, which funds speculative defense-related research, and the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency.

Sandia is a multiprogram DOE laboratory, operated by a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corp. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major research and development responsibilities in national security, energy, and environmental technologies and economic competitiveness.

Read More

_____________________________________________________________________

.Future of Computers      .DNA Computers      .Optical Computers 

.Holographic Storage Technology      .Quantum Computers

.Quantum Computing Reaches for True Power    

.Solid State Storage Technologies     .Protonic Memory   

.Molecular switches computers    .Nano-Computing

.Very Long Instruction Word Processors (VLIW)   

.Electronic Digital Paper     .Plastic Displays    

.Roentgen Display Technology    .Augmented reality

_____________________________________________________________________