A Technology-Independent Model for Nanoscale Logic Devices
Michael P. Frank · 2004
We discuss how to model nanoscale logic devices with-out making any assumptions about what type of physical mechanism (electrical, mechanical, optical, etc.) they are based on. Starting from core facts of quantum field theory, we review how generic physical quantities such as entropy and energy relate to computational concepts such as capacity and performance. We advocate partitioning our model into subsystems playing certain generic roles. Final-ly, we illustrate how our device-independent perspective lets us infer strong, general facts about any future nano-computing technology. E.g., standard irreversible logic can never perform more than ~1022 bit-ops/sec per 100 Watts of power. Furthermore, achieving logic frequencies above about 9 THz (in ~20 years) will require performing control-led manipulations of logical bits at generalized tempera-tures well above room temperature, which would also allow reversible computing to achieve sub-kT dissipation per bit-operation despite ambient thermal noise and decoherence.