Researchers in Japan have built a device that can process information roughly 1,000 times faster than conventional chips, without generating the additional waste heat that typically comes with that kind of speed.
The device, called a non-volatile switching element, addresses two of the biggest problems in high-performance computing: energy consumption and heat. According to a report by Live Science, the new device can process a single bit of information in just 40 picoseconds, or 40 trillionths of a second. Conventional chips generally cannot process a bit in less than a nanosecond, which is a billionth of a second.
Anyone who has heard a laptop fan spin up during a demanding task has experienced the basic problem this device aims to solve. In cloud data centers, that same problem plays out at enormous scale, with tens of thousands of servers each generating massive amounts of heat. Cooling those systems demands significant energy and expense.
The research team built the device from ultrathin layers of tantalum and Mn3Sn on top of a silica base. Tantalum is a refractory metal capable of storing and releasing electricity. Mn3Sn is antiferromagnetic, meaning it has stable magnetic properties and resists interference from external magnetic fields. That combination gave the device both speed and stability.
Rather than relying on continuous electrical current, the device is controlled through rapid pulses of light. The team used an ultrafast pulse generator to fire pulses as quick as 60 picoseconds through a high-speed photodetector called a uni-traveling-carrier photodiode, known as UTD-PD. When the switching element received those pulses, the spins of electrons in the material shifted, producing a measurable magnetic effect.
In laboratory testing, the device performed over one billion switches without failing. Critically, it did not require a continuous flow of electricity to maintain its stored magnetic information. And unlike conventional fast processors, it generated minimal additional heat during operation.
The study was published on May 14 in the journal Science. The researchers demonstrated that ultralow-power switching in the picosecond range was achievable in a working device, not just in theory.
The implications for data centers are direct. If processors built on this technology can run faster without consuming more energy or producing more heat, the cost and environmental burden of large-scale computing could drop substantially. The device is still in early research stages, but the results establish that the underlying physics can work at speeds far beyond what current commercial chips achieve.
