Ratchet Cellular Automata

TL;DR

This paper introduces a ratchet effect mechanism enabling clocked logic operations on discrete particles like vortices, using an AC drive to propagate states, and demonstrates a complete logic architecture with nanostructured superconducting devices.

Contribution

It presents a novel ratchet-based approach for performing logic operations on particles, with a detailed numerical demonstration of a complete logic system.

Findings

Complete logic architecture is feasible with the proposed ratchet system.

Nanostructured superconducting geometries can control vortex positions as logic states.

The approach offers an alternative microelectronic architecture.

Abstract

In this work we propose a ratchet effect which provides a general means of performing clocked logic operations on discrete particles, such as single electrons or vortices. The states are propagated through the device by the use of an applied AC drive. We numerically demonstrate that a complete logic architecture is realizable using this ratchet. We consider specific nanostructured superconducting geometries using superconducting materials under an applied magnetic field, with the positions of the individual vortices in samples acting as the logic states. These devices can be used as the building blocks for an alternative microelectronic architecture.