Military Embedded Systems

Moving toward superconducting supercomputing for intel community

News

December 05, 2017

Lisa Daigle

Assistant Managing Editor

Military Embedded Systems

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. A team led by Raytheon BBN Technologies -- under the auspices of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) Cryogenic Computing Complexity program -- is working to develop prototype cryogenic memory arrays and a scalable control architecture that is aimed at use in a new generation of energy-efficient superconducting supercomputers.

With Raytheon BBN as the prime contractor, the team also includes personnel from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, Cornell University, University of Rochester, University of Stellenbosch (South Africa), HYPRES, Inc., Canon U.S.A., and Spin Transfer Technologies Inc.

The team recently demonstrated an energy-efficient superconducting/ferromagnetic memory cell, which Raytheon BBN officials mark as the first integration of a superconducting switch controlling a cryogenic memory element.

"This research could generate a new approach to supercomputing that is more efficient, faster, less expensive, and requires a smaller footprint," said Zachary Dutton, Ph.D., the manager of the quantum technologies division at Raytheon BBN Technologies.

 

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