Supercomputing Simulations Support Chip Breakthrough

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Image of a typical model of hafnium silicates used in this study. A zoomed-in view is shown. The model contains more than 600 atoms and 5000 electrons. It is rendered in a so-called ball-and-stick graphical representation where the balls represent at ...
Image of a typical model of hafnium silicates used in this study. A zoomed-in view is shown. The model contains more than 600 atoms and 5000 electrons. It is rendered in a so-called ball-and-stick graphical representation, where the balls represent atoms (silicon in orange, hafnium in blue and oxygen in red) and the sticks represent the chemical bonds. On the basis of these models, IBM researchers calculated the important electronic properties and behavior of hafnium silicate.

IBM researchers today announced an advancement in computer-based simulations that is helping to drive chip technologies to new heights of performance and function. As reported in the scientific journal Physical Review Letters, a team of scientists at IBM's Zurich Research Laboratory for the first time used advanced supercomputer-based models to more deeply understand and master the complex behavior of a promising new material -- hafnium dioxide -- in silicon transistors, the fundamental building blocks of computer chips.


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