Science and Health

Institutes to enable untral-low power computation

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-11-29 14:14

SINGAPORE - Singapore's Institute of Microelectronics (IME) announced a collaborative partnership with Stanford University in the United States to develop nanoelectromechanical (NEM) relay technology to enable ultra-low power computation on Monday.

Related readings:  Ernst & Young sets to increase new energy sector investment  Advanced technology changes coal residue and waste materials into more valuable products  China-invested solar plant opens in Bulgaria  Official urges self-innovation of green technology

NEMS-based integrated circuits are ideal for a wide range of emerging green electronics solutions as they eliminate leakage power, one of the leading sources of power consumption in today's scaled devices.

NEMS, as the name implies, is made up of mechanical and electronic properties, and is touted the next frontier of the semiconductor industry's continuous miniaturization exercise. NEMS components offer near ideal device performances of multi- functionality, ultra-low power consumption and operational ruggedness.

The project will be jointly led by Navab Singh, Principal Investigator of the Nano-Electronics Program at IME, a research institute of Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and Professor H.S. Philip Wong, Professor Roger Howe, and Professor Subhasish Mitra from Stanford University.

"Not only do the NEMS devices allow much greater integration density to enable even smaller form factor to be attained, these devices are also suitable for use in robust electronic systems, given their high tolerance to harsh operating environments," said Singh.