Challenges and Perspectives of Computer Architecture at the Nano Scale

Advances in nanotechnology and the research of new materials has led to the elaboration of nano-components with novel properties and functions. Exploring how those novel components could be used to devise future computer architectures, complementing rather than supplementing CMOS technology, is a new research subject known as Nanocomputing. In this talk we will present the major challenges of such a research, the potential benefits of using technologies other than CMOS and some perspectives in terms of design and applications. We will illustrate the topic by presenting some of the most advanced results in the field, focusing on results from the European project FP7, NABAB, that explores how to build neuro-inspired computing structures with a variety of nanotechnologies.