Unscrew the cases of two desktop computers, one from the present day, one from the 1980s. Inside, you'll find little has changed. Black microchips with tiny letters printed upon them soldered to a green circuit board. Hundreds of small wires on the board connect the chips to each other and to other components such as capacitors and voltage regulators. Other circuit boards with more black chips plug into wide slots on the main board. Cables run from plugs on the circuit boards to other pieces of hardware like CD drives. Small fans are attached to the case and to critical components to prevent overheating. And, at least on the ‘80s-era computer, a thick layer of dust covering everything.
Since the 1970s, when integrated circuits finally overtook vacuum tubes and discrete transistors as the heart of computers, the design of printed circuit boards and microchip packages have barely changed. However, IBM recently announced a discovery that may once again revolutionize the look and design of computers: stackable microchips.
Traditionally, the microchips themselves are very tiny layers of silicon and copper, the largest barely exceeding the size of a thumbnail. The black, insect-like enclosures that surround the microchips, as well as the copper wires embedded in the circuit board, are needed to enable connections between different chips.
IBM has announced a technique that allows chips to be stacked upon each other without the overhead of circuit boards or enclosures. The technique would shorten the distance that most data has to travel by several orders of magnitude, leading to faster response times and more freedom in design.
The elimination of much of the copper wires also means that the system won't generate as much waste heat, which has been a growing concern as the number and complexity of components within modern systems continue to rise.
The technique, called ""through-silicon vias,"" is initially expected to be used to stack memory chips directly above processor chips, eliminating the need for each processor chip to have small amounts of embedded memory in addition to the circuitry that actually processes data.
IBM's discovery means that, for some applications, like cell phones, the circuit boards may be eliminated all together, leading to thinner phones and more freedom in design. Supercomputers will benefit from the lower latency between memory and processors.
Unfortunately for us mortals stuck with stanard desktop computers, IBM currently doesn't make many processors for consumer-level computers. However, Intel and AMD don't like being outdone and have also announced similar technologies for their own processors.
These advances, when linked with others announced within the past year, ensure that the pace of technological progress will continue, and, soon enough, everything will change.
Of course, if some companies have their way, servers and consumer-level computers alike will soon be bathed in oil.
But that's another story.
Keaton Miller is a junior majoring in math and economics. He hopes that someday computer chips will be sold in something resembling Pringles cans. Man, when did Pringles go out of style? E-mail him your thoughts at keatonmiller@wisc.edu.
