Home > Press > Energy saving devices
Abstract:
Thanks to the Steeper project conducted by EPFL, electronic devices should in future consume 10 times less energy when functioning, and almost nothing when in standby mode.
Energy saving devices
EU | Posted on October 31st, 2010From mobile telephones to supercomputers, and including laptops and television sets, the number of electronic devices is growing alarmingly together and, in parallel, their energy consumption. To respond to this trend, a large-scale initiative involving several major research institutions from the academic world and industry, and led by EPFL, has been launched. Nicknamed STEEPER, this project aims to cut down by a factor of 10 the energy consumption of these devices when they are functioning, and to virtually eliminate any energy consumption when they are in passive or standby mode.
With support from the 7th Framework Programme of the European Commission (FP7), scientists will be able to explore innovative modules on the nanometer scale for electronic chips, to bring down their operating voltage to less than 0.5 volts; this means lowering their electricity consumption by approximately 10-fold.
By reducing power consumption, STEEPER is taking a first step towards the "zero-watt" PC - "the Holy Grail of electronics", as Adrian M. Ionescu, Professor at the EPFL Nanolab and project coordinator, calls it. The long-term objective of this scientist is a form of electronics that is virtually autonomous, taking its energy from external phenomena such as solar, thermal or electromagnetic sources. This ambitious project, called NanoPCo, is scheduled for submission to Brussels, as a candidate for the research program FET Flagship.
Energy waste, the biggest challenge
"Energy waste is about to become the biggest challenge in electronics today, and in particular in the computer industry." This is the conclusion of Dr Heike Riel, researcher in charge of the nanoelectronic group at IBM Research in Zurich, and also involved in the project.
The development of innovative devices, such as steep slope transistors (hence the project name) can enable a much shorter transition between the "off" and "on" modes than is possible with the current 60mV/decade limit of metal-oxide-semiconductor, field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) at room temperature.
####
For more information, please click here
Copyright © EPFL
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Bookmark:
| Related News Press |
News and information
Sensors innovations for smart lithium-based batteries: advancements, opportunities, and potential challenges August 8th, 2025
Deciphering local microstrain-induced optimization of asymmetric Fe single atomic sites for efficient oxygen reduction August 8th, 2025
Lab to industry: InSe wafer-scale breakthrough for future electronics August 8th, 2025
Possible Futures
ICFO researchers overcome long-standing bottleneck in single photon detection with twisted 2D materials August 8th, 2025
New molecular technology targets tumors and simultaneously silences two ‘undruggable’ cancer genes August 8th, 2025
Simple algorithm paired with standard imaging tool could predict failure in lithium metal batteries August 8th, 2025
First real-time observation of two-dimensional melting process: Researchers at Mainz University unveil new insights into magnetic vortex structures August 8th, 2025
Chip Technology
Lab to industry: InSe wafer-scale breakthrough for future electronics August 8th, 2025
A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
Programmable electron-induced color router array May 14th, 2025
Enhancing power factor of p- and n-type single-walled carbon nanotubes April 25th, 2025
Nanoelectronics
Lab to industry: InSe wafer-scale breakthrough for future electronics August 8th, 2025
Interdisciplinary: Rice team tackles the future of semiconductors Multiferroics could be the key to ultralow-energy computing October 6th, 2023
Key element for a scalable quantum computer: Physicists from Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University demonstrate electron transport on a quantum chip September 23rd, 2022
Reduced power consumption in semiconductor devices September 23rd, 2022
Announcements
Sensors innovations for smart lithium-based batteries: advancements, opportunities, and potential challenges August 8th, 2025
Deciphering local microstrain-induced optimization of asymmetric Fe single atomic sites for efficient oxygen reduction August 8th, 2025
Japan launches fully domestically produced quantum computer: Expo visitors to experience quantum computing firsthand August 8th, 2025
ICFO researchers overcome long-standing bottleneck in single photon detection with twisted 2D materials August 8th, 2025
Energy
Sensors innovations for smart lithium-based batteries: advancements, opportunities, and potential challenges August 8th, 2025
Simple algorithm paired with standard imaging tool could predict failure in lithium metal batteries August 8th, 2025
KAIST researchers introduce new and improved, next-generation perovskite solar cell November 8th, 2024
Alliances/Trade associations/Partnerships/Distributorships
Chicago Quantum Exchange welcomes six new partners highlighting quantum technology solutions, from Chicago and beyond September 23rd, 2022
University of Illinois Chicago joins Brookhaven Lab's Quantum Center June 10th, 2022
Research partnerships
Lab to industry: InSe wafer-scale breakthrough for future electronics August 8th, 2025
HKU physicists uncover hidden order in the quantum world through deconfined quantum critical points April 25th, 2025
 |
||
 |
||
| The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
 |
||
|
|
||
| Premium Products | ||
 |
||
|
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
 |
||
|
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||
|
|
||