Hector De Los Santos, chief researcher in plasmon computing. In advanced computing techniques for more than 10 years, he has focused on creating innovative computing techniques to advance public health. His odyssey started way back in 2009 when he first imagined an alternative to traditional logic devices that are based on flows of current. Specifically, plasmons, or charge disturbances, were first theoretically proposed for computing in 2010 by the same man who calls the Cat Mountain project home now. Just a few weeks ago, De Los Santos and his team scored their biggest victory yet. Through this process, they developed a prototype that embodies the fundamental element of plasmonic logic.
The novel Y-junction device, only around five square microns in size, is a major leap in harnessing plasmon interactions. This invention decouples one plasmon with another, allowing their free movements. It doesn’t just disrupt conventional journalism’s flow of information – it directs that flow in a very different direction. The research illustrates the potential for high-speed, low-power logic devices. While this is a huge win, it exposes a huge gap in interdisciplinary understanding and accessibility.
The Concept Behind Plasmon Computing
De Los Santos came to plasmon computing after observing the drawbacks of conventional complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. His astute observations led him to new horizons of computing and what was possible. He understood that transistors get smaller. As they do, they increasingly encounter quantum mechanical effects and greater power dissipation.
“I got the idea of plasmon computing around 2009, upon observing the direction in which the field of CMOS logic was going. In particular, they were following the downscaling paradigm in which, by reducing the size of transistors, you would cram more and more transistors in a certain area, and that would increase the performance.” – Hector De Los Santos
“I began to think, ‘How can we solve this problem of improving the performance of logic devices while using the same fabrication techniques employed for CMOS—that is, while exploiting the current infrastructure?’” – Hector De Los Santos
Breakthrough with the Y-Junction Device
The Y-junction device developed by De Los Santos and his collaborators demonstrates the ability to control one plasmon with another. They imposed a DC voltage between the metal of the Y-junction and the conductive ground plane. That alone produced a relatively static ocean of electrons which deepened the plasmons’ interactivity.
Under the right conditions, this device enables one plasmon to control and direct another into one of the two legs of the Y-junction. By adding wires and control plasmons on either side, they can redirect the original bias plasmon, representing binary logic states—zero or one.
“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
The Y-junction device functions with surprisingly low energy needs. You can excite plasmons using energy levels as low as attoJoules. Thanks to this process, they travel a lot faster than ordinary particles.
“Going back to the analogy of throwing a pebble on the pond: It takes very, very low energy to create this kind of disturbance. The energy to excite a plasmon is on the order of attoJoules or less.” – Hector De Los Santos
Challenges and Future Directions
De Los Santos is enthusiastic about plasmon computing’s new, promising developments. He highlights that many hurdles remain, especially to bring this technology to the masses. Grasping the concept of plasmon computing demands a background in several fields. It unites semiconductor physics, electromagnetic theory, 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
He mentions there are essentially no limitations to fabrication techniques. Yet to advance this innovative approach, it’s important to inform potential future sponsors and researchers about it.
Looking forward, De Los Santos wants to create a full-scale device with two control plasmons. This next step will allow deeper investigation into chaining devices together to form basic computing elements like full adders.
“After that gets done, the next step is concatenating them to create a full adder because that is the fundamental computing logic component.” – Hector De Los Santos