IIT BBS scientist helps drive breakthrough in faster, low-power computing

Bhubaneswar: A scientist from IIT Bhubaneswar has contributed to an international research breakthrough that could aid the development of future computers that are faster and consume far less electricity than current machines.

The study was published in Nature Nanotechnology on July 10.The research team made more than 1 lakh tiny magnetic devices work together in coordination. The devices, called spintronic oscillators, are so small that thousands can fit in a tiny area.The scientists found that the devices could synchronise with each other in just 45 nanoseconds, or 45 billionths of a second. This could help future computers process information at extremely high speeds while using much less power.The network developed by the researchers is nearly 1,000 times larger than previous similar systems, showing that the technology can be scaled up for practical use. The team directly observed how thousands of tiny devices automatically organised themselves to work as a single system.“Although the technology is still at the research stage, it has the potential to transform many areas of everyday life. Future applications may include faster and energy-efficient artificial intelligence, smarter communication networks, real-time data analysis, financial modelling and optimisation, intelligent transportation systems, and scientific simulations that require enormous computing power,” an IIT Bhubaneswar statement said Monday.

Nilamani Behera, assistant professor in the department of physics at IIT Bhubaneswar and one of the lead authors of the study, said the demand for computing power is increasing rapidly due to the growth of artificial intelligence.“The findings show that very large networks of nanoscale magnetic devices can work together within a few billionths of a second, opening the door to faster and more energy-efficient computing technologies,” he said.The study was carried out by researchers from IIT Bhubaneswar, the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and Tohoku University in Japan. Scientists believe the breakthrough brings the world a step closer to developing computers that work more like the human brain while consuming much less energy.