Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book is based on the work carried out in that project, which was given the acronym ‘CORTEX’. It focuses on one innovative concept—the use of the third dimension to provide high-density, self-aligning molecular wiring. The book aims to devise technology for a three-dimensional multiple-chip stack which has the property of being scalable down to the nanometre size range. It considers how device constraints will place limitations on how devices could be put together to form circuits and nanocomputing systems that will be more powerful than final-generation Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor systems. The book examines the connection requirements—the ‘wiring’—for a possible ultra-high performance nanocomputer that would carry out the same sort of data-processing operations that are carried out by the human visual cortex.