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HP Patents Nanoscale "Street Map" Technology
radsoft, pointing to this HP press release, writes: "HP says silicon electronics will reach a dead end in 2012, and wants to have a 16KB prototype of its molecular memory working by 2005." Basically, it looks like they've worked out some of the details of interfacing molecular components (still in their infancy of course, but promising) with traditional silicon.
I'm really enthused to see that DARPA is funding ~half of this project, but HP gets to hold the patents. Maybe we need a million geek march on Washington to tell them that if we are paying for public (not "national security" related) research (through tax dollars), we expect to have rights to said developments.
Something ironic in there about the government funding research so that we can be forced to pay a company for it.
"The world's petroleum reserves will be depleated by 1980."
"The world demand for computers should be no more than 5 or 6 units."
"No one should ever need more than 640KB."
"Silicon will be a dead technology by 2012"
Umm, is it just me, or am I the only one that sees a pattern here? For christ's sake, the only thing that will probably die (and SHOULD die) are uniprocessor systems. When we get to the point where SMP is an obsolete technology, let me know. Until then, theres absolutely no need to push in a new direction when it comes to the way we fab processors..Time and time again, history has shown that the instant ANYONE whips out a hammer and chisel in this industry, and starts making a tombstone for any technology, they're views ultimately go down the tubes as alarmist and horribly myopic.
My $0.02,
Bowie J. Poag
HP is taking the "kill em all and let God sort em out" approach here, by using some sort of chemical etching process that makes a rat's nest of random possible connections, then figuring out which connection goes where after it's over. A couple of questions arise...Isn't there a possibility that one or a few connections just don't get made and so the circuit just won't work, even tho it's 99%+ connected? How often will something like this happen, and will it make the wafer yield too low to be feasible? How will you certify something like this for NASA and the military - they already are a little leery of things like neural nets which aren't deterministic enough to fully trust in mission critical aps. And finally, after a while don;t you get so small that cosmic rays / radiation will zap the wires? Transient resets in CPUs from cosmic rays is already a measurable phenomenon, would'nt this be worse?
What a smashing way to turn one's boobs into a computational device.
If you open yourself to the foo, You and foo become one.
Two kilobytes? WOW!
Why, if Moore's law applies to this new technology and they get a 64-fold increase over the following decade, they'll have built a 128KB memory by 2015!
Move over, DRAM! Step aside, SRAM! A new memory king is coming to town!
Tim
Actually, 16 kilobits. That's some sweet power.
Fast forward, 2005. Buy one of these nano machines from Target. Buy copies of COMPUTE! NANO. Stay up till 3AM entering programs into it like this:
25,254,3,5,32,60,251,232:4A5D
...
Having read the article i cannot see any actual real breakthrough at this stage - what they are saying is that molecular memory may be possible - this is not a new theory.
Their 'patent' by the looks of it is being a protective measure in case someone else comes up with the idea and actually gets it to work - they estimate they will have a 16kb prototype in approx 4 years - in other words they have patented the theory that this may work but now one has actually physically made one yet - they are working on this but just in case someone else manages it HP will have the patent and thus are due a royalty on anmy product ?
Also one more comment - this is really nothing that unusual - patents like this are awarded all the time - yet this is getting some news covergae - the wording makes it sound at first glance like they have this thing working, only when you read it do you realise they dont.
Arent H P in some trouble at the moment - their profit is down and several of their divisions arent permforming and their stock price has fallen, their is talk of managment shuffles at the top. Could this be a bit of positive news to salve the market ahead of the realease of their financial data today ?
I refuse to argue with Anonymous Cowards - if you want a discussion get an account....