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FinFETs Shimmy to 5G's Frequencies

posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday February 20 2018, @11:18PM   
from the shimmy-and-shake dept.

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Engineers at Purdue University and GlobalFoundries have gotten today's most advanced transistors to vibrate at frequencies that could make 5G phones and other gadgets smaller and more energy efficient. The feat could also improve CPU clocks, make wearable radars, and one day form the basis of a new kind of computing. They presented their results today at the IEEE International Solid-States Circuits Conference, in San Francisco.

https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/semiconductors/devices/finfets-shimmy-to-5gs-frequencies

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Original Submission

• and form the basis of a new kind of computing and form the basis of a new kind of computing (Score: 5, Interesting) by requerdanos on Wednesday February 21 2018, @12:24AM (3 children)

  by requerdanos (5997) on Wednesday February 21 2018, @12:24AM (#640953) Journal

  and one day form the basis of a new kind of computing

  That might be an exciting statement, and it might just be nonsense, so I dug a little deeper.

  New new kind of computing is that in which the processor has its own magic vibrating clock instead of a separate oscillator, propagating the clock signal throughout the chip audibly(?!) instead of using electrons and electricity, as we do today. This might result in what the article says is a power savings of something like a third, all-being-equal. Pretty cool. I hope they use it to make chips that are "ridiculously fast" and not just chips that are "more efficient".

  The actual techno-speak from the article:

  ...resonant fin structure could improve processor clocks. First, it could replace the off-chip oscillator with a small sliver of a processor’s own silicon. Second, it could potentially distribute the clock signal around the chip better. The resonator, which is just 200 nanometers wide, acts like a waveguide, losing very little of its acoustic energy along its length. Weinstein imagines clock signals being distributed to distant parts of the chip using low-loss acoustic waves instead of electronic signals; about one-third of a processor’s energy is today taken up in distributing the clock signal.

  What’s more, Moore’s Law will naturally increase the frequencies resonant fins can attain. Looking ahead to GlobalFoundries 7-nm process, the team figures 60–80 GHz is attainable. That puts the resonators in the realm of car radar. With such an efficient radar source at hand, Weinstein envisions wearables that do personal navigation.

  And I forgot to mention! Moore's law is now not considered to be dead like it was just recently, but a living force that makes finFET technology have more and more superpowers.

  Who could have predicted that [soylentnews.org]?

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• Re:and form the basis of a new kind of computing (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday February 21 2018, @12:31AM

  by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Wednesday February 21 2018, @12:31AM (#640956) Journal

  Moore's law is now not considered to be dead like it was just recently, but a living force that makes finFET technology have more and more superpowers.

  Amazingly, different people have different opinions about the matter.

  --
  [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]

  Parent

• Re:and form the basis of a new kind of computing Re:and form the basis of a new kind of computing (Score: 2) by frojack on Wednesday February 21 2018, @01:05AM (1 child)

  by frojack (1554) on Wednesday February 21 2018, @01:05AM (#640966) Journal

  So its a vibrating clock.

  But where does the transistor bit come in?

  A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electronic signals and electrical power. It is composed of semiconductor material usually with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit.

  There's no mention of transistors vibrating there in the wiki page. [wikipedia.org]

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  No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.

  Parent

  • Re:and form the basis of a new kind of computing (Score: 3, Informative) by requerdanos on Wednesday February 21 2018, @01:28AM

    by requerdanos (5997) on Wednesday February 21 2018, @01:28AM (#640975) Journal

    So its a vibrating clock. But where does the transistor bit come in?

    The transistor has fins, and their vibration keeps time. I suppose that must be analogous to a pendulum, albeit a really really really small fast one. I guess they're clocky transistors.

    Here's a neat picture [anandtech.com] of a finFET transistor whose fins could be made to vibrate (wiggle, shimmy, what-have-you) with this new technology (picture appears on this page [maltiel-consulting.com] (scroll down to "The 3D Tri-Gate Transistor").

    I suppose you could make a finFET something else and it could wiggle, too, now, but I gather the excitement comes from making the transistor subcomponents vibrate. It's frankly over my head.

    Parent