Wi-Fi networks slow down when more people or devices use them. The same thing happens with large systems. If too many people gather in one place, cell towers cannot handle the influx. As the number of connected devices grows exponentially, and the coming wave of artificial intelligence could further exacerbate the problem, big «data congestion» is on the horizon. However, scientists from the University of Florida have proposed a potential solution: the use of 3D chips.
Most wireless communications rely on «planar» processors, which means they are essentially flat, reports Gizmodo. Because they are two-dimensional, they can only handle a limited range of frequencies at any given time. But unlocking a manufacturing process that allows for three-dimensional chips could allow hardware to handle multiple frequencies at once. This could be a real revolution.
According to Ruzbeh Tabrizian, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Florida whose team developed the new processors, this problem can be compared to traffic moving through a city.
The city’s infrastructure can only handle a certain level of traffic, and if you keep increasing the number of cars, you have problems. We start to reach the maximum amount of data we can move efficiently. The planar structure of processors is no longer practical because it limits us to a very limited frequency range.
— Tabrizian said in press release.
The study describes a new approach that uses semiconductor technology to place multiple processors designed for different frequencies in a single chip. This has several advantages. First of all, it increases performance while reducing the area occupied by the chips. Planar chips can only get bigger if they are made wider, but the ability to create chips that increase their capacity in three dimensions instead of two means that the technology is much easier to scale.