A Defect-Tolerant Computer Architecture: Opportunities for Nanotechnology

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 280; no. 5370; pp. 1716 - 1721
• Main Authors: Heath, James R., Kuekes, Philip J., Snider, Gregory S., Williams, R. Stanley
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Society for the Advancement of Science 12.06.1998; American Association for the Advancement of Science; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Algorithms; Applied sciences; Architecture; Children; Computer architecture; Computer memory; Computer software; Computer systems; Computer technology; Computers; Computers, microcomputers; Data lines; Electronic Equipment; Electronics; Energy; Exact sciences and technology; Hardware; Information management; Innovations; Logical Thinking; Machinery; Manufacturing; Nanotechnology; Parallel computers; Review; Parallel computer; Nanotechnology; Fault tolerant system; Massive parallelism
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.280.5370.1716

Teramac is a massively parallel experimental computer built at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories to investigate a wide range of different computational architectures. This machine contains about 220,000 hardware defects, any one of which could prove fatal to a conventional computer, and yet it operated 100 times faster than a high-end single-processor workstation for some of its configurations. The defect-tolerant architecture of Teramac, which incorporates a high communication bandwith that enables it to easily route around defects, has significant implications for any future nanometer-scale computational paradigm. It may be feasible to chemically synthesize individual electronic components with less than a 100 percent yield, assemble them into systems with appreciable uncertainty in their connectivity, and still create a powerful and reliable data communications network. Future nanoscale computers may consist of extremely large-configuration memories that are programmed for specific tasks by a tutor that locates and tags the defects in the system.