Thermal computation:

Storage and processing of Phononic

Information

Presented by:

Deeparnak Bhowmick
Zuber Ahmed

Electronics and Communication Engineering

 What is a Computer

· n. an electronic device which is capable of

receiving information (data) and performing
a sequence of logical operations in
accordance with a predetermined but
variable set of procedural instructions
(program) to produce a result in the form of
information or signals.
The most important invention of the
20th century!
 How about heat?

Can we invent similar device to control heat?

Heat is more important than electricity for

human being and other forms of life.
 How exactly does heat flow?
Fundamentally, heat is nothing but a form of
energy that induces vibrational motion to particles
 Quantization of Heat
The particles in a
lattice cannot
vibrate at any
arbitrary
frequencies even
when heat is
applied
These particles can
vibrate only at any of
the predefined normal
modes of vibration
The lattice
particles vibrating
at their resonant
frequency result in
this wave pattern,
thus transmitting
phonons, the
fundamental
quanta or packets
of heat energy
 How do we control the heat flow?
• When two different materials are placed in
contact, heat can flow easily only when their
resonant frequencies match
• In non-linear crystals, the resonant frequency
vary with temperature
• We need different models to represent linear
and non-linear crystals
 Models for heat flow
Linear crystals Non-linear crystals
• This model consists of (Frenkel-Kontorova-Tomlinson
particles connected with Model)
springs that follow normal
Hooke’s law • Here the particles vibrate in
sinusoidal potential wells
The thermal diode
The thermal transistor
The thermal transistor
Decision making
 Thermal logic
Toutput = Toff ; if Tinput <Tc;
Toutput = Ton ; if Tinput >Tc:
Thermal repeater
Function of a thermal
repeater that contains
six thermal transistors.
The outputs are better
and better as the
number of transistors is
increased. The final
output from the 6th
transistor is very close
to that
The NOT gate
AND/OR
• An AND gate works like
this: If one input is off,
then the output must be
off regardless the other
input. Otherwise, if one
input is on, then the
output follows the other
input.
• An OR works like this: If
one input is on, then the
output must be on
regardless the other
input. Otherwise, if one
input is off, then the
output follows the other
input.
Thermal memory
The bistable states of memory
 Memory operations

• Memory
initialization
• Write operation
• Storage
• Read operation
 Physical realization
• Heat diodes using Si-Ge
lattice have already been
built
• We have the technology to
make nano-wires that
further miniaturizes the
elements
• Thermal memory has been
demonstrated theoretically,
but its realization requires
newer materials that can
operate at ambient
temperatures
 Conclusion
• Immensely concentrated and small : 1 sq.inch
chip with a thickness of 1 atom can store 30Tb
of data under ideal conditions.
• This technology will be scalable, hence leading
to rapid drop in production cost over time
• Heat is no more “Waste heat”
• With the advent of new materials, this
technology will become more efficient and
easier to implement
Thank You