Near Zero-Energy Computation Using Quantum-dot Cellular Automata
Sprache des Titels:
Englisch
Original Kurzfassung:
Near zero-energy computing describes the concept of executing logic operations below the (kBT ln 2) energy limit. Landauer discussed that it is impossible to break this limit as long as the computations are
performed in the conventional, non-reversible way. But even if reversible computations were performed,
the basic energy needed for operating circuits realized in conventional technologies is still far above the
(kBT ln 2) energy limit, i.e. the circuits do not operate physically reversible. In contrast, novel nanotechnologies like Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA) allow for computations with very low energy dissipation and, hence, are promising candidates for breaking this limit. Accordingly, the design of reversible
QCA circuits is an active field of research. But whether QCA in general (and the proposed circuits in
particular) are indeed able to operate in a logically and physically reversible fashion is unknown thus far,
because neither physical realizations nor appropriate simulation approaches were available yet. In this work,
we address this gap by utilizing an established theoretical model that has been implemented in a physics
simulator enabling a precise consideration of how energy is dissipated in QCA designs. Our results provide
strong evidence that QCA is indeed a suitable technology for near zero-energy computing. Further, the first
design of a logically and physically reversible adder circuit is presented which serves as proof-of-concept for
future circuits with the ability of near zero-energy computing.
Sprache der Kurzfassung:
Englisch
Journal:
ACM Journal on Emerging Technologies in Computing Systems
Forschungs-