HP Developing New Type Of Computer Based On Silicon Photonics, Memristors

Researchers at Hewlett-Packard (HP) are working to develop a new form of computer architecture that brings together advancements in nanoscale manufacturing and fiber optics to dramatically change the way computers operate.

According to an article published by Bloomberg Businessweek, the technology — dubbed “the Machine” by researchers at HP Labs — will use of silicon photonics to speed data transfer.

HP is one of several computer hardware manufacturers working to harness the high-speed potential of fiber optics inside computers, in place of traditional copper wires. “HP’s proposed silicon photonics would ... be a big deal,” according to the Businessweek article. “In theory, fiber could also replace Ethernet cables and link entire racks of servers together.”

In parallel with its light-driven data transfer technology, the company is attempting to develop memristors, nanoscale chips that could dramatically increase both the storage capacity and speed of memory.

Memristors are built using a grid of wires with layers of incredibly thin materials such as tantalum oxide stacked up at each intersection. When an electrical current is applied to the grid of wires, the resistance of the stacked-up materials changes. These changes can then be held in place after the current is turned off, effectively providing a way for the chips to remember basic electrical information.

HP expects these new chips to be able to store huge amounts of information, potentially making it possible to build computers with unprecedented amounts of memory. Furthermore, memristors could also make it possible for a computer’s main chips to sit right next to its memory, allowing for almost instantaneous information access, according to Businessweek.

“Everyone on the planet who is paying any attention to this type of thing wants to see this new kind of fast, cheap, persistent memory,” said Greg Papadopoulos, a partner at the venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates and a former computer architect for both HP and Sun. “If one of these things work, and one of them will, it will change computing architecture fundamentally.”