Physicists Found A Way To Dramatically Reduce Computer Cemory Consumption

Сredit: University of Edinburgh

Physicists from the University of Edinburgh have demonstrated the possibility of significantly reducing the energy required to write data to electronic memory. The problem of memory power consumption has become particularly acute following the development of generative intelligence platforms, and any option to mitigate its consequences should be considered a priority.

The study was conducted by Xiaohan Cui, Che Ting Chan, and their colleagues from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The results were published in the journal Nature.

Topological photonics allows light to be directed in only one direction. This signal is not reflected back when encountering defects, irregularities, or bends, so the channel remains stable even with imperfect material structures.

Previous systems created a one-way path only at the interface of two specially designed topological insulators. The interior of these structures did not transmit light and effectively took up space without benefit for information transmission. Due to the large non-working region, engineers struggled to densely pack channels into photonic chips.

Cui’s team abandoned the use of separate insulating regions and constructed a waveguide from magnetic rods arranged in a honeycomb lattice. This geometry separated electromagnetic waves into independent valleys aligned with the direction of signal propagation.

Each region freely transmits waves in one direction but blocks travel in the opposite direction. The researchers arranged four regions in a closed pattern, allowing adjacent channels to cancel each other’s backflow. The result was a kind of four-lane highway, with two signals traveling in one direction and two simultaneously traveling in opposite directions.

The physicists tested the design using microwave signals carrying information. The waves passed through sharp bends and narrow sections without noticeable backscatter, and adjacent channels had virtually no influence on each other. Unidirectional propagation was maintained even after intentional deformation of the lattice.

According to the authors’ calculations, under certain parameters, this method may be more cost-effective than STT-MRAM and SOT-MRAM technologies, where the magnetic state is altered by currents that generate spin-transfer torque or spin-orbit angular momentum. Moreover, the proposed method can be applied to controlling currents and lasers, which allows us to talk about optimizing data processing in a broad sense.