All a PC integrated in a chip!

As part of the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco, Stanford researchers unveiled the prototype of a single-component computer.

Miniaturization has allowed many technological developments, such as smartphones and PC laptops. Some want to push this trend even further, to create a computer so small that it could be integrated with any equipment. To this end, a team led by researchers from Stanford University in the United States has unveiled the prototype of a complete computer on a single chip. This innovation was presented at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco this February 19th, a forum dedicated to electronics.

Concretely, it is about a processor surmounted by memory, using new technology. Stanford researchers teamed up with scientists from the Electronics and Information Technology Laboratory ( Leti ) in Grenoble to develop this memory and integrate it on the processor. According to Subhasish Mitra, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Stanford, it's about creating a "whole" rather than the sum of the parts.

A new memory technology

These engineers have developed a memory RRAM type ( resistive random-access memory) which offers several advantages. First, it is a non-volatile memory, which means that it retains the data, even when the chip goes into hibernation to save energy. In addition, it allows a higher storage density to reduce the size, researchers have managed to increase the storage capacity of each cell. Rather than register two states, a 0 or a 1, like the vast majority of computer memory technologies, each cell can store five different states.
RRAM memory offers reduced power consumption; the integration directly on the processor allows for even more savings. Minimizing the circuitry between the two elements eliminates electrical losses and minimizes response time to improve system autonomy and power. The memory and the processor have a power consumption that is equivalent to 1/10 the of what other equivalent devices consume while keeping an advanced computing power. They have added an algorithm to better manage memory wear and claim that it has a lifespan of about ten years.

Technology that could quickly integrate smartphones

The prototype would make "the diameter of a pencil eraser", only six millimeters. The development required the collaboration of computer scientists and electrical engineers, who integrated many hardware and software technologies. This prototype would still be too big for some developments of the future, as with the Internet of Things, but the combination of memory and processor could already be integrated into many devices. This new architecture is already of interest to chip makers and could lead to new developments in smartphones and other mobile devices.

WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER

• Stanford researchers associated with Leti scientists from Grenoble have developed a complete PC prototype of the surface of a pencil eraser.
• The memory is integrated into the processor.
• This chip of a new kind could equip the next smartphones.