The 3-D computer

The 3-D Computer is an implementation of a cellular array processor. Two technologies which make possible massive numbers of communication channels both between silicon wafers and through them have been developed. A parallel processor (single-instruction-multiple-data stream cellular array processor) has been designed and built to demonstrate the potential of this technological approach. While the 3-D computer which has been built and operated is a small-scale implementation relative to the long-term aims of this technology, it is nevertheless an extremely powerful computer. The current feasibility demonstration 3-D Computer is a 32×32 array of processors partitioned over five wafers stacked one on top of another. The throughput of this machine is >600 million operations per second with a 10-MHz clock, while the projected throughput of a full-scale machine is >100 billion operations per second, again with a 10-MHz clock