World's First 2D, Atom-Thin Non-Silicon Computer Developed (sciencedaily.com) 19
In a world first, a research team used 2D materials — only an atom thick — to develop a computer. The team (led by researchers at Pennsylvania State University) says it's a major step toward thinner, faster and more energy-efficient electronics.
From the University's announcement: They created a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) computer — technology at the heart of nearly every modern electronic device — without relying on silicon. Instead, they used two different 2D materials to develop both types of transistors needed to control the electric current flow in CMOS computers: molybdenum disulfide for n-type transistors and tungsten diselenide for p-type transistors... "[A]s silicon devices shrink, their performance begins to degrade," [said lead researcher/engineering professor Saptarshi Das]. "Two-dimensional materials, by contrast, maintain their exceptional electronic properties at atomic thickness, offering a promising path forward...."
The team used metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) — a fabrication process that involves vaporizing ingredients, forcing a chemical reaction and depositing the products onto a substrate — to grow large sheets of molybdenum disulfide and tungsten diselenide and fabricate over 1,000 of each type of transistor. By carefully tuning the device fabrication and post-processing steps, they were able to adjust the threshold voltages of both n- and p-type transistors, enabling the construction of fully functional CMOS logic circuits.
"Our 2D CMOS computer operates at low-supply voltages with minimal power consumption and can perform simple logic operations at frequencies up to 25 kilohertz," said first author Subir Ghosh, a doctoral student pursuing a degree in engineering science and mechanics under Das's mentorship. Ghosh noted that the operating frequency is low compared to conventional silicon CMOS circuits, but their computer — known as a one instruction set computer — can still perform simple logic operations.
From the University's announcement: They created a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) computer — technology at the heart of nearly every modern electronic device — without relying on silicon. Instead, they used two different 2D materials to develop both types of transistors needed to control the electric current flow in CMOS computers: molybdenum disulfide for n-type transistors and tungsten diselenide for p-type transistors... "[A]s silicon devices shrink, their performance begins to degrade," [said lead researcher/engineering professor Saptarshi Das]. "Two-dimensional materials, by contrast, maintain their exceptional electronic properties at atomic thickness, offering a promising path forward...."
The team used metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) — a fabrication process that involves vaporizing ingredients, forcing a chemical reaction and depositing the products onto a substrate — to grow large sheets of molybdenum disulfide and tungsten diselenide and fabricate over 1,000 of each type of transistor. By carefully tuning the device fabrication and post-processing steps, they were able to adjust the threshold voltages of both n- and p-type transistors, enabling the construction of fully functional CMOS logic circuits.
"Our 2D CMOS computer operates at low-supply voltages with minimal power consumption and can perform simple logic operations at frequencies up to 25 kilohertz," said first author Subir Ghosh, a doctoral student pursuing a degree in engineering science and mechanics under Das's mentorship. Ghosh noted that the operating frequency is low compared to conventional silicon CMOS circuits, but their computer — known as a one instruction set computer — can still perform simple logic operations.
When first commercial product? (Score:3)
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What use is a substrate that thing? (Score:2)
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The substrate doesn't need to be that thin, but it probably has to be really flat.
What the hell is a.... (Score:2)
Not that there isn't some use for a cheap 25Khz microprocessor that runs on picowatts. It would just be nice to see more specifics, especially production costs for the device being commercially available.
Autocomplete inserted "set"? (Score:2)
One instruction set computer? Most computers have one instruction set. Article is paywalled so all we get is the almost useless synopsis.
It's probably a "one instruction computer". Autocomplete / Spellcheck probably inserted "set", courtesy of AI?
One instruction is just a starting point, proof of concept sort of stuff.
FWIW, the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 microcontroller has two instruction sets, ARM and RISC-V. It looks at the flashed code to decide which pair of cores to run. No emulation or run-time translation (like x86), 2 ARM cores and 2 RISC-V cores.
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One instruction set computers are computers that have just one instruction. There are whole bunch of different OISCs, including many which are Turing complete.
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One instruction set computer? Most computers have one instruction set. Article is paywalled so all we get is the almost useless synopsis.
It's an unfortunate term that only exists to follow the existing naming scheme.
It means one op code.
CISC = Complex Instruction Set Computer, where you'll find a single opcode that does the same job as dozens or hundreds of more basic opcodes, but ideally in less clock cycles.
RISC = Reduced Instruction Set Computer, where you just get those basic opcodes and more complex functions are, well, functions.
OISC = One Instruction Set Computer, meaning there is one opcode in the "set"
For example I built a Disintegr
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It means one op code .... which forms the instruction "add and branch if less than or equal to zero"
Serious question - what's the purpose of having the ability to branch if you only have one possible opcode? Everywhere that you can branch to will be equivalent, correct?
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These computers typically have a "subtract and conditionally branch" as their single instruction. SUBLEQ a, b, c, subtracts the contents of a from the contents of b, stores it at b, and jumps to c if the result is less than or equal to zero.
An unconditional branch has the next instruction as the destination. A move is a series of subtractions, involving a location that contains 0. Jump tables are a series of subtractions and conditional branches.
Dropped it (Score:2)
Way too slow (so far) (Score:2)
Sounds like they need to increase the clock rate by a factor of a million or so to be competitve. It will be interesting to see how hard that is for them. Otherwise this will remain an intellectual curiousity because 25 khz is *very* slow - it would make one of he slowest computers ever built. It would take work to make a stored program microprocessor with a clock rate slower than that, Maybe if you used electromechanical relays or something. Sigh.
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One of the most popular computers of the 1950s, the venerable IBM 650, could perform roughly 600 additions or subtractions per second, and it was an electronic machine, based on vacuum tube logic. Another very popular machine, IBM 610, was even slower.
Material abundance (Score:2)
As usual this kind of announcement should be readen while looking up crustal abundance [wikimedia.org] of the required elements. molybdenum (Mo) and Tungsten (W) are note common, but not that scare. They are around the abundance level of uranium.
Forever calculator? (Score:2)
If it can do the 4 basic operations of arithmetic without using much of any power, you could have a simple solar calculator that pretty much never ever needs batteries and can run in some of the lowest light conditions possible if you just gave it a few caps to charge.
2D? (Score:2)
I've got news: atoms are not 2 dimensional. I can't help but think any publication that prints this stuff isn't worth the paper it's no longer printed on.
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I've got news: atoms are not 2 dimensional. I can't help but think any publication that prints this stuff isn't worth the paper it's no longer printed on.
By that logic, a map cannot be 2D because it will always have the width of the material it's printed on. The mere concept of 2D would be meaningless for anything but abstract mathematical objects.
However that's not how we use words and meanings in language. If you build a computer on a layer of material where the width is not relevant - because by design it's impossible to build it any thinner, for all practical purposes it's correct to call it a 2D material, and it's pedantry to point out that any physical