Hector De Los Santos, right, is a pioneer in plasmon computing. He’s spent the last eleven years working on a revolutionary new model that just may change the face of logic devices. His path to the president’s chair began back in 2009. It was then that he began to focus on how to improve the performance of logic devices within the limits that today’s fabrication technology for CMOS1 could provide. In 2010, he proposed the visionary concept of plasmonic computing. These electron density waves hold the key to creating more rapid and energy-efficient processing.
Earlier this year, De Los Santos revealed a nal device that demonstrates the interplay of two plasmons. This discovery is seen as a major turning point in his research. He works with independent experts, including from the University of South Carolina, Ohio State University, and the Georgia Institute of Technology. In unison, they’ve set out to develop an all-in-one device that supports dual controls. This advancement holds promise for the future of computing, potentially offering a new paradigm that could overcome the limitations of current technologies.
The Concept of Plasmon Computing
The germ of the idea of plasmons came from De Los Santos’s looking at the CMOS logic trends. He recognized that as transistors shrink to enhance performance, they face challenges such as quantum mechanical effects and increased power dissipation.
“I got the idea of plasmon computing around 2009, upon observing the direction in which the field of CMOS logic was going,” – Hector De Los Santos.
De Los Santos’s approach is a bit like fluidic logic, which uses jets of air to do logic operations. He envisioned a similar concept using localized electron charge density waves, where disturbances in a sea of electrons create waves akin to ripples on a pond.
“Plasmons are basically the disturbance of the electron density. If you have what is called an electron sea, you can imagine a pond of water. When you disturb the surface, you create waves,” – De Los Santos.
According to De Los Santos, the key to plasmons is using an electromagnetic wave to “excite” the plasmons and create them. This approach might allow a fundamentally more reversible computation to be performed using much less energy.
The Y-Junction Device
At the heart of De Los Santos’s research is his pioneering Y-junction device, which is about five square microns in size. This complex apparatus controls one plasmon with the other. It accomplishes this by imposing a direct current voltage across the Y junction’s metal (or conductive DNA) and a ground plane. This physical configuration creates a dynamic, ultrastatic sea of electrons that allows for the topological manipulation of complex plasmons.
The control plasmon can reflect the incident bias plasmon into one branch of the Y-junction. By adding wires and control plasmons on either side of the junction, researchers can steer plasmons into either leg effectively.
“I demonstrated the partial device, that is just the interaction of two plasmons. The next step would be to demonstrate and fabricate the full device, which would have the two controls,” – Hector De Los Santos.
In the next stage of his research, he’ll manufacture the entire device. This device is going to have only two controls and it will be fundamental in uniting all the pieces together to develop vital computing logic functions.
Challenges and Future Directions
Even with the promise of plasmon computing, De Los Santos is the first to admit that plenty of challenges are still to come. One key obstacle is the departure from conventional logic device ends in current flow based paradigms. His tech uses controlled wave flows. The average voter would have a hard time even wrapping their head around these concepts as they require a background in electrical engineering, including metal-oxide-semiconductor physics, electromagnetic waves and quantum field theory.
“I think the main challenge is that the technology doesn’t follow from today’s paradigm of logic devices based on current flows. This is based on wave flows,” – Hector De Los Santos.
In all of his work, he stresses the need for clarity and accessibility. These factors will be the keys as he acquires funding and partners to take his work further. De Los Santos has faith that there are no a priori bounds to fabrication. Rather, he recognizes the hurdles in making this technology relatable to a wide audience.
“In my opinion, the usual approaches are just doomed… In contrast, plasmon computation is inherently reversible, and there is no fundamental reason it should dissipate any energy during switching,” – Hector De Los Santos.
As De Los Santos and his collaborators continue their research, they aim to bridge the gap between traditional computing paradigms and emerging technologies like plasmon computing. As a result of their efforts, breakthrough improvements to electronic logic devices will soon be realized with ultra-low power consumption and shift-speed operation.
