SHF: MEDIUM: Semiconductor Life Extenstion through Reconfiguration

工业界很快就会制造出原子大小的晶体管。这些微小的晶体管是脆弱的，这意味着每个晶体管都是不同的，在使用过程中会发生变化。许多晶体管在刚建成的时候是无法使用的；还有一些会随着使用而退化或失效。就像人或雪花一样，用这些微小的晶体管构成的每一个元件（如微处理器、图形芯片、存储器）和系统（如手机、mp3播放器、防抱死刹车）都将是独一无二的。传统的“一刀切”的方法将任务分配给晶体管，而忽略了它们独特的优点和缺点；这些方法浪费了这些微小晶体管的很多潜在好处，导致系统成本太高，消耗太多能量，而且很快就会失效。本研究探索了一种基于测量晶体管特性自适应分配任务的新方法。最快的晶体管被分配到最能提高性能的地方，而较慢的晶体管仍然可以用于时间要求较低的任务。在系统运行期间，分配被进一步重新评估，允许新的晶体管替换磨损的晶体管。实际上，这意味着集成电路制造商可以生产更小的晶体管，并以固定的美元预算继续提供更强大的电子产品（例如数字录像机，手机，笔记本电脑，超级计算机）。这些功能不断提高我们的生活质量，提供更丰富的媒体、更好的通信、更高的自动化和更高的安全性。这项工作将减少每个计算任务的能量，从而延长电池寿命，减少能源费用，并促进冷却器的运行。更换和重新分配意味着电子元件将使用更长的时间和优雅地退化。

Industry will soon manufacture transistors whose sizes are on the order of atoms. These tiny transistors are fragile, meaning each transistor will be different and will change during use. Many transistors will be unusable when first built; still others will degrade or fail with use. Like people or snowflakes, each of our components (e.g. microprocessors, graphic chips, memories) and systems (e.g. cell phones, mp3 players, anti-lock brakes) built with these tiny transistors will be unique. Traditional, one-size-fits-all approaches assign tasks to transistors oblivious of their unique strengths and weaknesses; these approaches waste much of the potential benefits of these tiny transistors, leading to systems that cost too much, use too much energy, and fail too soon. This research explores a novel assignment approach that assigns tasks adaptively based on measured transistor characteristics. The fastest transistors are assigned where they most accelerate performance, while the slower transistors can still be used for less time-critical tasks. Assignments are further re-evaluated during system operation, allowing fresh transistors to replace transistors that wear out. Practically, this means IC manufacturers can produce smaller transistors and continue to deliver more capable electronics (e.g. digital video recorders, cell phones, laptops, supercomputers) for fixed dollar budgets. These capabilities continue to improve our quality of life, providing richer media, better communication, greater automation, and greater safety. This work will reduce the energy per computational task thereby extending battery life, reducing energy bills, and facilitating cooler operation. Replacement and reassignment mean electronic components will last longer and degrade gracefully.