3D chips to boost eco-friendly computing power 10-fold

London: Eco-friendly 3D microchips, being developed by a clutch of cutting-edge research labs, are likely to boost computing power 10-fold, consuming negligible energy.

They are being developed jointly by IBM Research Lab, EPFL and ETH Zurich, the twin Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology.

The project, under the leadership of EPFL's John R. Thome's (Lausanne), aims to develop processors with as many transistors per cubic centimetre as there are neurons in the entire human brain - a functional density greater than ever before.

Not so long ago our computers relied on a single core which had to be boosted for performance - making each machine into a great central heating system.

Beyond 85 degrees Celsius, however, single core electronic components become unstable. This problem was overcome with the multi-core technology, where the same chip includes several processors, sharing tasks.

Most of today's consumer electronics proudly boast a "dual core" or "quad core". However, in time the technology will come up against the same physical limits.

These 3D processors build on the idea of multi-cores. However, the cores are stacked vertically rather than placed side-by-side as in current processors.

The advantage is that the entire surface of the core can be connected to the next layer, through 100 to 10,0000 connections per square mm.

Shorter and more numerous, these minute interconnects should ensure that data transfer is 10 times faster, while reducing energy consumption and heat.

The technological challenge is clear in terms of performance. But there is also an environmental stake. As Thome explains: "In the US, the industry's data centres already consume as much as two percent of available electricity."

"As consumption doubles over a five-year period, the supercomputers of 2100 would theoretically use up the whole of the USA's electrical supply!"

Although 3D multi-core chips will use up less energy and generate less heat, they will still warm up.

At the heart of the project lies a revolutionary cooling system. Channels as thin as human hair are inserted between each core layer, filled with a cooling liquid, which exits the circuit as vapour, liquified by a condenser and finally pumped back into the processor.

Next year, a prototype of this cooling system will be implemented and tested under actual operating conditions - but without a processor, says a joint release of EPFL and ETH.

The initial 3D processors should be fitted on supercomputers by 2015, while the version with an integrated cooling system should become viable by 2020.
Source: IANS