Skip to content

TechRepublic

  • Top Products Lists
  • AI
  • Developer
  • Payroll
  • Security
  • Project Management
  • TechRepublic Academy
  • Innovation
  • Cheat Sheets
  • Cloud
  • 5G
  • Big Data
  • TechRepublic Premium
  • Top Products Lists
  • AI
  • Developer
  • Payroll
  • Security
  • Project Management
  • TechRepublic Academy
  • Innovation
  • Cheat Sheets
  • Cloud
  • 5G
  • Big Data
  • See All Topics
  • Sponsored
  • Newsletters
  • Forums
  • Resource Library
TechRepublic Premium
Join / Sign In
CXO

Photos: Inside IBM’s Zurich research lab

By Bill Detwiler May 23, 2006, 4:28 AM PDT on Twitter billdetwiler

Image
1
of 7

Leafy green welcomes visitors to IBM's Zurich lab
Leafy green welcomes visitors to IBM's Zurich lab
Photos: Inside IBM’s Zurich research lab

Colin Barker/ZDNet UK

The IBM Research laboratory in Zurich, Switzerland, founded 50 years ago, was Big Blue’s first research facility outside the U.S. It was 25 years ago that the lab made its most famous research breakthrough: the scanning tunneling microscope, which provided the foundation for understanding and working with nanoscale technology.rn

rnThat breakthrough brought a Nobel Prize in physics in 1986 for Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer. Only a year later, the lab hit the research jackpot again, when Georg Bednorz and Alex Mueller scooped the same prize for their work on high-temperature superconductivity.rn

rnTwo Nobels in two years is some achievement, especially considering that IBM Research as a whole has won only three in total.rn

rnDespite its pedigree, IBM Zurich is quite small. There are 240 employees, and 50 predoctoral and 30 postdoctoral students. IBM Research has 3,500 employees in eight laboratories around the world–with three of those labs in the U.S., including the largest, Thomas J. Watson Research Center.rn

rnThe work of the lab in Zurich varies widely, from advanced silicon research to helping IBM’s consulting arm win new business.rn

Colin Barker/ZDNet UK
Photos: Inside IBM’s Zurich research lab

Investigating nanoscale objects is a hugely tricky process–even with a scanning electron microscope–and the research needs to be conducted in a special atmosphere. This particular work, conducted by Walter Riess, the research manager for nanoscale structures and devices, is looking at ways of growing nanowires.rn

rnA nanowire is an extremely narrow object that has an aspect ratio (the ratio between length and width) of 1,000-to-1 or greater. At this time, nanowires and their possible uses exist only in the realms of research, but Riess and his team are investigating different elements for their suitability for “growing” nanowires, and trying to deduce the properties those wires will have. The aim is to use nanowires to manufacture microprocessors.rn

rnA microprocessor built from nanowires would, in theory, be much more powerful than current processors since computers are based on electrical signals running through very narrow channels. Today’s microprocessors are so small inside that signals leak and create interference, a problem that will only get bigger as the channels get smaller. Can nanowires conduct electrical signals in nanoscale structures? A lot of science needs to be done before we know the answer to that one.

Photos: Inside IBM’s Zurich research lab

Another major focus for IBM Zurich is research into ways of dissipating heat from microprocessors.rn

rnHeat has been an issue in computing since the days of mainframes, when methods like water cooling were used to try to keep processors from melting. It remains a problem today, even though manufacturers have tried a range of possible solutions from complex fans and air cooling to massive heat sinks.rn

rnBruno Michel, the manager for advanced thermal packaging, and his team are working on a procedure that uses a combination of techniques to find more effective cooling. The secret is all in the packaging–Michel’s team is working on a chip package that puts a thermal paste directly on the processor and then attaches a heat sink that can dissipate some of the heat.rn

rnThis picture shows a chip (at left) with thermal paste added and a copper heat dissipater attached. The liquid cooling attachment (at right) is also experimental.rn

rnMichel and his team are testing different pastes that can be used as adhesives for attaching processors and have great heat dissipation properties.

Photos: Inside IBM’s Zurich research lab

Instead of a heat sink, chips could be covered with a liquid cooling device. This is an “immersion jet impingement” with distributed coolant returns.rn

rnThe device is about the size of the packaging on a current Pentium processor, but inside that small space there are 50,000 coolant nozzles. The result is that coolant can be circulated very quickly.

Photos: Inside IBM’s Zurich research lab

Another area under examination is the input-output bottleneck. As Christian Menolfi, who specializes in I/O links explained, you can see the issue simply by looking at the back of an I/O processor. rn

rn”Pin counts are getting very large,” Menolfi said. “We are looking at needing 1,000 just for I/O. The complications of the I/O pins are growing faster than the number of pins. This is the package bottleneck.”rn

rnThe answer, according to Menolfi, is advanced, multichannel signaling (shown in the top-left display). By arranging the I/O channels in the optimum configuration, the Zurich researchers hope to guarantee maximum data throughput.

Photos: Inside IBM’s Zurich research lab

Optical technology could also be used to improve signaling performance. Christoph Berger, a Zurich specialist in this area, demonstrated the theories and practice of optical devices.rn

rnThis is a four-way, optical interconnect unit. Mountings for two processors are shown, with space for two more.rn

rnThe processors sit on the mounts. If you attach a microprocessor to a mounting and optical cables to both the input and an output, it’s possible to look down one cable and see through the other.

Photos: Inside IBM’s Zurich research lab

The more practical side of advanced scientific research can also be seen at the Zurich center, where a range of leading-edge products were on display.rn

rnThis included projects for ID cards that use the most complex engraving technology, so that a picture is not on a card, but part of the card’s physical structure; a health-monitoring system that uses a cell phone to keep a doctor aware of a patient’s essential health data and will sound an alarm if the parameters change; and a security system that can track people at room level–for situations where it may be OK for someone to walk into the room but not into a particular part of it. rn

rnOne practical system undergoing final testing with an unnamed transportation company will track containers anywhere in the world and can raise a flag if the container is opened, even if it’s 2,000 miles away. This particular project uses wireless, RFID and related technologies for monitoring and tracking.rn

rnThe challenge for Zurich scientists has been not so much how to track containers, but how to produce a tracking system that can monitor 10,000 containers individually. Monitors and sensors will have to be powered off batteries for a year or two, keep in contact with a base anything up to 2,000 miles away and still come in at a reasonable cost.

  • CXO
  • Account Information

    Share with Your Friends

    Photos: Inside IBM’s Zurich research lab

    Your email has been sent

Share: Photos: Inside IBM's Zurich research lab
Image of Bill Detwiler
By Bill Detwiler
Bill Detwiler is the Editor for Technical Content and Ecosystem at Celonis. He is the former Editor in Chief of TechRepublic and previous host of TechRepublic's Dynamic Developer podcast and Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show.
  • Account Information

    Contact Bill Detwiler

    Your message has been sent

  • |
  • See all of Bill's content

TechRepublic Premium

  • TechRepublic Premium

    Enterprise IoT calculator: TCO and ROI

    Internet of Things devices serve a number of useful applications, such as environmental, asset or inventory monitoring/control, security functions, fitness devices and smartwatches. There is an array of IoT functions for both consumer and business purposes, but determining the total cost of ownership and the return on your enterprise investment in a widespread or large-scale ...

    Downloads
    Published:  June 6, 2023, 4:00 PM EDT Modified:  June 7, 2023, 9:15 AM EDT Read More See more TechRepublic Premium
  • TechRepublic Premium

    Employee political activity policy

    No matter where in the world an enterprise operates, politics is going to play a major role in the lives of its employees. Depending on the country and the current political situation, it’s possible for affiliations, candidates and political parties to become a driving passion in your workforce. While an actively engaged workforce taking interest ...

    Downloads
    Published:  June 6, 2023, 4:00 PM EDT Modified:  June 7, 2023, 8:42 AM EDT Read More See more TechRepublic Premium
  • TechRepublic Premium

    Diversity and inclusion policy

    The importance of diversity and inclusion in any given organization cannot be overstated. It establishes a level playing field, brings together people with different backgrounds, perspectives, traditions and ideas and enriches company culture by ensuring fairness and tolerance. This helps build a more effective and collaborative workforce which enables the business to run in a ...

    Downloads
    Published:  June 5, 2023, 4:00 PM EDT Modified:  June 6, 2023, 9:27 AM EDT Read More See more TechRepublic Premium
  • TechRepublic Premium

    Development lifecycle policy

    Software development is a complex process that involves a specific series of steps (known as the development lifecycle) to transform a concept into a deliverable product. The steps involved with creating the finished product must be carefully adhered to yield the best results, reduce inefficiencies and maximize customer satisfaction. The purpose of this policy from ...

    Downloads
    Published:  June 5, 2023, 4:00 PM EDT Modified:  June 6, 2023, 9:15 AM EDT Read More See more TechRepublic Premium

Services

  • About Us
  • Newsletters
  • RSS Feeds
  • Site Map
  • Site Help & Feedback
  • FAQ
  • Advertise
  • Do Not Sell My Information

Explore

  • Downloads
  • TechRepublic Forums
  • Meet the Team
  • TechRepublic Academy
  • TechRepublic Premium
  • Resource Library
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • TechRepublic
  • TechRepublic on Twitter
  • TechRepublic on Facebook
  • TechRepublic on LinkedIn
  • TechRepublic on Flipboard
© 2023 TechnologyAdvice. All rights reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Property of TechnologyAdvice