York leads technological advance
York University has been awarded part of a £5.3 million grant to fund research into the next generation of electronic gadgets.
York, one of several universities, including Glasgow Edinburgh, Manchester, and Southampton, to be part of the scheme will be developing ways in which gadgets of the future such as mobile phones and mp3 players can be smaller, smarter and more powerful.
The project involves research into the creation of “nanoscale” circuits, making use of transistors which are 80,000 times smaller than a hair’s breadth. Such research is being done in order to keep in line with the relentless advancements of technology, which have overtaken the physical abilities of circuit manufacturers. The project will involve the use of massive-scale computing power to bring together simulations of circuit behaviour.
The York-based team which works within the Electronics Department will receive £300,000 of the total grant money. The research group is being led by head of department Professor Andy Tyrell, who has been given the task of providing statistical models for the new devices. Professor Tyrell said that the project was “looking to the future and answering a real-world problem”, adding that he felt it was a “really funky project” calling it “very exciting”
Professor Alan Murray who is project coordinator between the five institutions involved said in a recent press statement “the circuits we currently use cannot cope” with new technology developments: “they will require re-design – possibly even complete replacement – with circuits that have not yet been invented. We can’t wait for silicon technology to create viable, production-line nanoscale transistors
