IC integrates sensors, logic and memory using CNTs and RRAM
- Autore:Ella Cai
- Rilasciare il:2017-07-06
A 3D chip which combines sensors, logic and memory using carbon nanotubes and RRAM has been made by Stanford University researchers.
On the top layer of the chip the researchers placed over 1 million CNT-based sensors, which they used to detect and classify ambient gases.
Due to the layering of sensing, data storage, and computing, the chip was able to measure each of the sensors in parallel, and then write directly into its memory, generating huge bandwidth.
“To sustain the promise of Moore’s Law economics, innovative heterogeneous approaches are required as dimensional scaling is no longer sufficient,” says Ken Hansen of SRC, “this pioneering work embodies that philosophy.”
The chip has 1 million RRAM cells and 2 million CNT FETs built on top of eachother and connected by ultra-dense wires.
Logic made from carbon nanotubes can be an order of magnitude more energy-efficient compared to today’s logic made from silicon, and similarly, RRAM can be denser, faster, and more energy-efficient compared to DRAM, says the research team.
On the top layer of the chip the researchers placed over 1 million CNT-based sensors, which they used to detect and classify ambient gases.
Due to the layering of sensing, data storage, and computing, the chip was able to measure each of the sensors in parallel, and then write directly into its memory, generating huge bandwidth.
“To sustain the promise of Moore’s Law economics, innovative heterogeneous approaches are required as dimensional scaling is no longer sufficient,” says Ken Hansen of SRC, “this pioneering work embodies that philosophy.”
