PALO ALTO, Calif.-Hewlett-Packard Co. said it has created a technology that can replace the transistor, which has been the fundamental building block for computers for the past half century.
The company said its Quantum Science Research group has demonstrated what it calls a “crossbar latch” that can allow computers to work without transistors and make them “thousands of times more powerful than those that exist today.”
The transistor replaced the vacuum tube, which replaced electromagnetic relays.
“We are re-inventing the computer at the molecular scale,” said Stan Williams, HP senior fellow and QSR director, and one of the authors of the paper. “The crossbar latch provides a key element needed for building a computer using nanometer-sized devices that are relatively inexpensive and easy to build.”
HP said transistors cannot operate at the size of nanometers. Wireless technology places premium on the size of its devices as more functionality and technologies develop in the industry.
The company concedes that transistors will continue to be used for years.<
