Develop high performance microchip

Enables handheld devices to be able to load & store energy 10 times longer than current technology.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) & Texas Instruments have unveiled the secret of a new type of chip model for handheld electronics that increases power efficiency by 10 times compared to public current technology. This design can be applied to mobile phones, implantable medical devices & sensor devices, which helps to increase the running time longer when using battery power.

Professor Chandrakasan is currently working at MIT's Micro System Technology Laboratory, who led the research team: The key to energy efficiency improvements lies in how to build circuits in the child. The chip works at a voltage lower than normal . While most chips currently operate around a 1 volt voltage, the new design allows them to operate at only 0.3 volts.

Reducing the operating voltage, but this is not simple, because the current micro-chips have been optimized for many years leading to them operating at a higher standard voltage."Memory & circuit design principles need to be redesigned to operate at a supply voltage much lower than the current level." Chandrakasan said.

The team developed microchips that are 10 times more energy efficient than current technology.Graduate students in Electronic Engineering & Computer Science including Yogesh Ramadass, Naveen Verma, Joyce Kwong;Professor Anantha Chandrakasan is currently working at MIT Microbiology Technology Laboratory (left to right). - (Photo: Web.mit.edu)

The key to the design lies in building a high-performance direct current ( DC-to-DC ) switching circuitry - allowing low voltage drop - right on the same chip to reduce splitting components leave. DC-to-DC is a circuit that converts direct current from this voltage into another voltage, which is commonly used in electrical consumption devices. Redesign memory and principle, including a direct current converter, all integrated in a complete system, which is the solution that the new chip offers.

A major problem that the team needs to overcome is to calculate the voltage variation of the chip that always appears when making them. At low voltages, variability and imperfections in silicon circuits are often difficult to overcome." The design of a chip with reduced voltage variations is an important part of our strategy ," Chandrakasan said.

Further, the new chip will verify the actual concept. Commercial applications can become reality "in about 5 years or even earlier". For example, portable devices & implanted medical devices, portable communication devices and network devices can use this type of chip & will increase over time. They can also be used in sophisticated products for the military in reconnaissance on the battlefield.

In some applications, such as implantable medical devices, the goal is to make devices that consume very little electricity to the extent that they can maintain their operation from the available energy sources around them, Chandrakasan said. Such as using the body's heat or the environment to provide the power needed for the device. In addition, this technology is suitable for wireless sensor networks.

Dr. Dennis Buss, research director at Texas Instruments, said: "The new chip design model reveals great potential applications for products using integrated circuits with low voltage, including both wireless terminals, control batteries, sensor networks & electronic medical devices ".

This research was funded in part by the US Advanced Missile Defense Projects Research Agency.

Nam Hy Hoang Phong (Translated by David Chandler, MIT News Office)