Prototype

Fast Clocks for Fast Chips

  • April 2001
  • By Technology Review
   

In the world of high-speed computer chips, timing is everything. Without a clock, processors are useless, and the faster and smaller the chip, the harder it is to keep steady time. The latest superconducting chips-circuits that deliver astonishing electrical speed when kept at extremely cold temperatures-are the electronic equivalent of an untamed bucking bronco. In search of a faster timing device that can harness their power, Mark F. Bocko, professor of electrical engineering at the University of Rochester, has developed a clock with a built-in diagnostic chip that can measure and adjust its own timing. Already, Bocko's team has successfully clocked a superconducting circuit running at 50 gigahertz. The clocks could eventually handle chips running at "several hundred gigahertz," says Bocko. The team is working with an Elmsford, NY, electronics company called Hypres to construct superconducting equipment for wireless communications. -C. Conti

 

To read the entire article you must log in:

Most of our content — all daily news, blogs, and videos — is free. Magazine stories are paid. To read this story, you must have a subscription or you must use a reading credit. Registration to Technology Review is free and entitles registrants to three free reading credits.

Username or REGISTER
Password  
   
 
Advertisement

MAGAZINE

Can We Build Tomorrow's Breakthroughs?

Manufacturing in the United States is in trouble. That's bad news not just for the country's economy but for the future of innovation.

Videos

Meet 2011 TR35 Winner Jesse Robbins

More

Advertisement

Technology Review Lists

TR50

Our list of the 50 most innovative companies, including the following:

Amazon.com

Applied Materials

Twitter

Joule Unlimited

More

Advertisement

Facebook

Advertisement