APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY:

Applications that require high performance computing or high performance digital communications, such as:

  • Artificial intelligence/Machine learning
  • Image and video processing
  • Digital signal processing
  • Infrared sensors
  • Space exploration equipment
  • Quantum technology

BENEFITS:

  • Better performance and lower power/energy consumption than current complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) and binary superconducting circuits
  • Better accuracy in the presence of errors and circuit noise
  • Reliability in harsh environments

BACKGROUND:

Superconducting technology is a promising candidate for the future of high performance computing systems due to its high performance and efficiency. However, current superconducting prototypes have stringent area requirements, which make them challenging to scale. Additionally, current superconducting prototypes require complex architectures that are not optimized for superconducting technology, which further limits the scalability of the technology. New architectures are needed to overcome these challenges.

TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW: 

Berkeley lab researchers have developed a new architecture called the Unary Single Flux Quantum (U-SFQ), which utilizes pulse-streams and Race Logic (RL) to overcome the area constraints and complex architectures that limit current superconducting prototypes. Based on this foundation, researchers designed efficient arithmetic that is at the core of key applications

This invention was found to process information much more efficiently than the current way of making superconducting circuits. The proposed U-SFQ processing elements require up to 200X fewer JJs compared to their SFQ binary counterparts, resulting in lower power/energy consumption. The invention also yields better accuracy in the presence of errors and circuit noise, which is not possible with any technology that relies on a binary representation. The lower power consumption and improved accuracy that this invention displays could make it more reliable in harsh environments, such as space.

DEVELOPMENT STAGE: 

Proof of concept

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS:

Patricia Gonzalez-Guerrero

Georgios Michelogiannakis

Meriam Gay Bautista

Darren Lyles

IP Status: 

Patent pending

OPPORTUNITIES: 

Available for licensing or collaborative research