Explained: Why India Should Work On Quantum Computing And Nanomagnetic Logic?

Chandigarh (ABC Live): In response to United States silicon-based semiconductor chils, China recently announced export restrictions on germanium and gallium, the crucial raw materials required for Silicon based Chips.

These restrictions will take effect August 1, 2023, and exporters must now apply for a license to ship these metals from China. The license application must specify who is importing the metals and how they intend to use them.

It is important to note that China has a dominant role in the market for germanium and gallium and?supplying 94% of the world's gallium and 83% of the germanium, as highlighted in a recent EU on critical raw materials.

It is also important to note that the U.S. first imposed restrictions on the export of Chips to China in 2015 and extended them in 2021 and 2022.?

The latest restrictions were introduced in December 2022 to impede China’s progress in gaining supremacy in areas such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

Potential substitute for silicon computer Chips

In the race is for artificial intelligence and quantum computing, both the U.S. and China are going all out to gain supremacy in emerging technologies and are also exploring alternatives to silicon computer Chips.

The research team at ABC, which focuses on future science, points to the following alternatives to silicon computer French fries that India should work on, as it has the largest numbers of most young mindshuman resources in the world compared to other countries in the race.

As technological advancements shape our world, silicon-based computing is fast reaching its limits. Modern life depends on silicon-based semiconductor chips that power?from computers to smartphones to medical devices.

It's important to note that silicon-based chips are not yet 'dead." Rather, they have long since passed their peak in terms of performance. But that does not mean we should not think about what can replace them.

Computers and future technologies need to be more agile and extremely powerful. To achieve this, we need something far superior to today's silicon-based computer chips. Here are three possible replacements:

1. Quantum computing

Google, IBM, Intel and smaller start-up companies are racing to build the first quantum computers. These computers will use the power of quantum physics to deliver unimaginable computing power provided by 'qubits." These qubits are far more powerful than silicon transistors.

Before the potential of quantum computers can be realized, however, physicists must overcome many hurdles. One of those hurdles is proving the superiority of the quantum machine by performing a specific task better than a conventional computer chip.

2. Graphene and carbon nanotubes

Discovered in 2004, graphene is a truly revolutionary material that won the Nobel Prize for the team that developed it.

It is extremely strong, can conduct electricity and heat, is only one atom thick, has a hexagonal lattice structure, and is abundant. However, it could be years before graphene is available for commercial production.

One of graphene's biggest problems is that it cannot be used as a switch. Unlike silicon semiconductors, which can be turned on and off by an electric current -- creating binary code, the zeros and ones that make computers work-- graphene cannot.

Graphene and carbon nanotubes are still very new. While silicon-based computer chips have been in development for decades, the discovery of graphene is only 14 years old. If graphene is to replace silicon in the future, much remains to be accomplished.

Nevertheless, in theory, it is undoubtedly the most ideal replacement for silicon chips. Think foldable laptops, super-fast transistors and phones that cannot break. All this and more is theoretically possible with graphene.

3. Nanomagnetic logic

Graphene and quantum computing look promising, but so do nanomagnets. Nanomagnets use nanomagnetic logic to transmit and compute data. To do this, they use bistable magnetization states that are lithographically inserted into the cellular architecture of a circuit.

The nanomagnetic logic works in the same way as silicon-based transistors, but instead of switching the transistors on and off to create a binary code, it does so by switching the magnetization states. Using dipole-dipole interactions-- the interaction between the north and south poles of each magnet-- this binary information can be processed.

Because nanomagnetic logic does not rely on electrical power, its power consumption is very low. This makes it an ideal substitute when environmental factors are considered.

Source: The ABC Live #nanomagnetic #quantumcomputing ?