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Engineering limits on computer performance

MAY 01, 1984
The astounding progress in microelectronics, which has fueled the rapid growth in computer performance, is finally beginning to approach fundamental physical limits; henceforth computer architecture will become more important.

DOI: 10.1063/1.2916240

Charles L. Seitz
Juri Matisoo

Although the title of our article addresses engineering limits, we do not mean to convey a grim outlook. Over the past 20 years, the technology of computer systems has advanced dramatically in terms of performance, cost and reliability. There is every reason to expect this advance to continue, at a rate almost as shocking as we have experienced to date. However, the advance already achieved has pushed the mechanisms of switching, storage and communication close enough to fundamental physical limits to bring into awareness for the first time limitations in the engineering of high‐performance systems.

References

  1. 1. G. E. Moore, Proc. Caltech Conf. on Very Large Scale Integration, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California (1979).

  2. 2. M. Canepa, E. Weber, H. Talley, VLSI Design Magazine 4, Jan/Feb 1983.

  3. 3. C. Mead, L. Conway, Introduction to VLSI Systems, Addison‐Wesley, Reading, Mass. (1980).

  4. 4. T. H. Ning, D. D. Tang, P. M. Solomon, Technical Digest, International Electron Devices Meeting, 1980, page 61.

  5. 5. S. Brenner et al., Proc. 1983 IEEE International Solid‐State Circuits Conference, IEEE, New York, NY (1983).

  6. 6. D. B. Tuckerman, R. F. W. Pease, IEEE Electr. Dev. Lett. EDL‐12, 126 (1981).https://doi.org/EDLEDZ

  7. 7. R. C. Eden, A. R. Livingston, B. M. Welch, IEEE Spectrum 20, December 1983, page 30.https://doi.org/IEESAM

  8. 8. H. Morkoc, P. M. Solomon, IEEE Spectrum 21, Feb. 84, page 28.

  9. 9. B. L. Buzbee, IFIP Congress, Paris, Sept. 1983. Los Alamos National Laboratory, ♯LA‐UR‐83‐1392.

  10. 10. C. L. Seitz, 1982 Conf. on Advanced Research in VLSI, MIT, Artech Books, Dedham, MA, 1982.

  11. 11. C. L. Seitz, J VLSI and Computer Systems 1, no 2 in press.

  12. 12. H. T. Kung, Computer Magazine, January 1982, page 37.

More about the Authors

Charles L. Seitz. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California.

Juri Matisoo. Thomas J. Watson Research Center, International Business Machines Corporation, Yorktown Heights, New York.

This Content Appeared In
pt-cover_1984_05.jpeg

Volume 37, Number 5

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