Towards a Technology and Architecture Hybrid?

The challenges to extending the delivered computing capabilities of semiconductor technology through Moore?s Law, while manageable in the short term, may prove difficult or possibly impractical in the long term. Even now, the complex interplay of power and performance is resulting in significant changes in previous trends. Clock rates of commodity microprocessors are flattening even as multi-core chips are emerging as the norm for next generation systems. While conventional wisdom has dictated an assumption of continued adherence to the pure CMOS tradition of the last decade and more, the supercomputing community must consider the possibility of alternative technologies, at least in combination with more conventional devices. More than just changing or augmenting the technology base, new architecture structures and programming models may need to be considered and multiple levels to exploit the potential of such advances. This panel addresses these issues with a focus on one possible alternative technology: superconductor devices. Rapid Single Flux Quantum (RSFQ) logic exhibits operational properties in terms of performance and power that now positions it as a potential future leader among alternative digital technologies to augment semiconductor components in hybrid systems. But it is also challenged by lack of maturity and commercial market as well as its reliance on extreme operational temperature regimes. This panel brings together leaders in the fields of technology and computer architecture to consider the possible strategies and potential viability of superconductor based supercomputing.