Scientists using semiconductor technologies have created three-dimensional processors that can radically improve the methods of transmitting large volumes of data around the world. A study supported by the agency of promising defense research projects (DARPA) was represented by a scientific group from the University of Florida. It promises to radically change the landscape of the existing wireless communication.
Unlike traditional flat processors limited by their two-dimensional structures, the new three-dimensional processors use the unique properties of semiconductors. These materials have electrical conductivity between traditional conductors and insulators, which allows you to expand the capabilities of traditional electrical components.
The head of the group, Dr. Ruzbekh Tabrizyan, emphasized that the creation of three-dimensional processors is a turning point in the development of wireless technologies. This is especially important, taking into account the growing dependence on the transmission of information in the mode close to the real time, as well as the implementation of AI and other information technologies. Tabrizyan noted that the new technology will open the way to the development of smart cities, remote health care and augmented reality.
Existing technologies in communication devices, such as smartphones, transmit information, converting data into electromagnetic waves. However, according to Tabrizyan, the load on communication technology is approached the maximum possible amount of data that can be transmitted due to the restrictions of two-dimensional processors.
The breakthrough was achieved thanks to the creation of a three-dimensional nanomechanical resonator using a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS). This technology made it possible to integrate various processors operating at certain frequencies into one chip, which provides incomparable performance compared to their two-dimensional predecessors and the possibility of scaling, while occupying less space.
David Arnold, Deputy Chairman of Personnel in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering and a Member of the Tabrizyan team, called the new technology a “real breakthrough”. “The new approach of Dr. Tabrizyan to a multi-band, frequency-bending radio chip not only solves a huge production problem, but also allows you to present completely new communication strategies in the conditions of an ever-loaded wireless world,” he said in the statement.
The study of the Tabrizyan team was published in the article in the journal Nature on February 20, 2024.