Breaking the Speed Limit Again?

As many in the semiconductor industry lament the speed limitations imposed by silicon chips, these researchers are exploring a promising alternative logic that can switch up to 1000x faster, yet consume less energy. Instead of silicon, they plan to use phase-change materials that switch between crystalline conductor and glassy insulator in less than a nanosecond. The approach solves the problem of silicon logic so small that tunneling and the resulting data loss become more likely and more damaging. Much work remains, but success would allow this technology to replace both today's volatile and non-volatile memory.

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