A design of and design tools for a novel quantum dot based microprocessor

Despite the seemingly endless upwards spiral of modern VLSI technology, many experts are predicting a hard wall for CMOS in about a decade. Given this, researchers continue to look at alternative technologies, one of which is based on quantum dots, called quantum cellular automata (QCA). While the first such devices have been fabricated, little is known about how to design complete systems of them. This paper summarizes one of the first such studies, namely an attempt to design a complete, albeit simple, CPU in the technology. To design a theoretical QCA microprocessor, two things must be accomplished. First a device model of the processor must be constructed (i.e. the schematic itself). Second, methods for simulating and testing QCA designs must be developed. This paper summarizes the beginnings of a simple QCA microprocessor (namely, its dataflow) and a QCA design and simulation tool