New techie term: crossbar latch

[Benjamin Zimmer]

If the HP hype is to be believed, then "crossbar latch" should get early
consideration for "Word of the Decade"...

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http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2005/050201a.html
News Release
Who Needs Transistors? HP Scientists Create New Computing Breakthrough at
Molecular Scale
Research could send transistors the way of the vacuum tube
PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 1, 2005
In a paper published in today's Journal of Applied Physics, three members
of HP Labs' Quantum Science Research (QSR) group propose and demonstrate a
"crossbar latch," which provides the signal restoration and inversion
required for general computing without the need for transistors. The
technology could result in computers that are thousands of times more
powerful than those that exist today.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/01/technology/01nano.html
New York Times
Hewlett Reports Advance in Molecular-Scale Device
By JOHN MARKOFF
Published: February 1, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 31 - A group of Hewlett-Packard researchers will
report on Tuesday that they have created a molecular-scale alternative to
the transistor. The device could increase the viability of a new
generation of ultrasmall electronics that would one day be smaller than
what is possible with today's silicon-based technology.
In an article to be published Tuesday in The Journal of Applied Physics,
three researchers at the quantum science research group of Hewlett-Packard
Labs, based in Palo Alto, Calif., describe how they have designed a
"crossbar latch," making it possible to perform a type of logic operation
that is essential to the functions of a modern computer.
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http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=JAPIAU000097000003034301000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=Yes
Journal of Applied Physics -- 1 February 2005
J. Appl. Phys. 97, 034301  (2005) (5 pages)
The crossbar latch: Logic value storage, restoration, and inversion in
crossbar circuits
Philip J. Kuekes, Duncan R. Stewart, and R. Stanley Williams
Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, 1501 Page Mill Road, MS 1123, Palo Alto,
California 94304
(Received 9 June 2004; accepted 29 September 2004; published online 30
December 2004)
Programmable crossbar circuits are one key architecture proposed for
integrated nanoscale electronics. Emphasizing practicality of fabrication,
many scenarios advocate crossbar circuits based on two-terminal devices.
In this case, however, signal restoration and inversion remain critical
weaknesses. Restoration is essential before the degraded output of one
logic gate can drive the input of a subsequent logic gate. Inversion is
required to generate a complete logic family. Here we describe and
demonstrate a solution to both problems, the crossbar latch. This device
stores a logic value on a signal wire, enabling logic value restoration,
and inversion. In combination with resistor/diode logic gates, these
operations in principle enable universal computing for crossbar circuits,
and potentially, integrated nanoscale electronics.
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--Ben Zimmer