Not bad. The clock is only 10 times slower than Intel's first 8008 u processor. But it is 32 bit, not 8 bit.
I could use a chip running at 20Khz ok. Most edge applications don't need a lot of horsepower.
Looks like it really is silicon-free:
The process uses an n-type metal-oxide TFT technology based on indium−gallium−zinc oxide (IGZO)
Note that they only have n-type transistors, so they have all the same problems as the old , before everyone switched to CMOS:
Design in n-type metal-oxide thin-film technology is facing many of the same challenges that affected the complexity and yield of the first silicon (negative channel metal–oxide–semiconductor, NMOS) technology during the 1970s and early 1980s, in particular poor noise margin, high power consumption, and large process variation (for example, Vt).
So this is pretty shitty in terms of power efficiency, until they develop a way to make a p-type transistor using these materials.
I think we've reached the end of silicone at this point. Sure, they can reduce the nm to 5 or 3nm, but that's about all. As for plastic substrates, I don't think there is a lot of promise here.
I will say, I don't need high clock speeds for edge devices. I need low power drain. 20Khz clock speeds are fine. I'm using ESP32 devices now and it's very capable with very good power drain characteristics.
What would you say is the future for the industry? I don’t know a lot about this stuff, just curious.
That, and being able to essentially print it on to a plastic film - that offers a lot of possibility.
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