{"id":11945,"date":"2023-01-27T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-27T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/formtek.com\/blog\/?p=11945"},"modified":"2022-06-27T11:01:33","modified_gmt":"2022-06-27T19:01:33","slug":"moores-law-are-the-current-alternatives-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/formtek.com\/blog\/moores-law-are-the-current-alternatives-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"Moore’s Law: Are the Current Alternatives Enough?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Semiconductor chips are continually shrinking and performing faster, something predicted by More’s Law. Taiwanese chip maker TSMC has announced plans<\/a> to manufacture a 1-nanometer size chip in 2027. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult technically and from a cost perspective to continue to shrink the size of chips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Moore’s law comes to an end, scientists and researchers are investigating alternatives.<\/a> One is the use of Application-Specific ICs (ASICs) which are chips that are architected to optimize processing for specific types of problems. ASICs, for example, might be dedicated to image processing or used for running the computations for an AI algorithm. Another alternative is to design 3D ICs where chip wafers are layered and interconnected vertically. Migration from silicon to different materials is also being considered. Alternative materials being considered include carbon nanotubes and graphene. And finally, there are alternatives to binary digital computers which include neuromorphic systems and quantum computing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what if these alternatives don’t pan out?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2012, Bill Dally<\/a>, chief scientist at Nvidia, said that<\/a> “I drive a 1964 car. I also have a 2010. There’s not that much difference — gross performance indicators like top speed and miles per gallon aren’t that different. It’s safer, and there are a lot of creature comforts in the interior. We’ll start to look like the auto industry.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neil Thompson<\/a>, an MIT research scientist at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), told MIT writer Adam Zewe<\/a> in an interview said that<\/a> “the implications are quite worrisome. As computing improves, it powers better weather prediction and the other areas we studied, but it also improves countless other areas… that are critical parts of our economy and society. If that engine of improvement slows down, it means that all those follow-on effects also slow down. Some [might argue that] if one pathway slows down, other ones will compensate… For example, we are already seeing increased interest in designing specialized computer chips as a way to compensate for the end of Moore’s Law. But the problem is the magnitude of these effects. The gains from Moore’s Law were so large that, in many application areas, other sources of innovation will not be able to compensate.<\/p>\n

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Semiconductor chips are continually shrinking and performing faster, something predicted by More’s Law. Taiwanese chip maker TSMC has announced plans to manufacture a 1-nanometer size chip in 2027. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult technically and from a cost perspective…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more ›<\/a><\/div>\n

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