U.S. intelligence agency IARPA recently announced that it will work with three major technology firms on its latest program to build a superconducting exascale computer.

IARPA awarded the first contracts to IBM, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon BBN Technologies to start the process of developing what it calls the Cryogenic Computer Complexity (C3) program. The financial details of the deal, however, have not been provided.

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The C3 program is a multi-year research effort that will pave the way for an exascale supercomputer - a new generation of superconducting computer that is capable of about 1,000 petaflops (1 exaflop) or at least 40 times faster than the world's existing supercomputers. 

The main goal of the program is to establish a solution to the extremely expensive power and cooling problems experienced in superconducting computing. The world's fastest supercomputers consume around 10 megawatts to power 20 petaflops of computation. These advances alone aren't enough to make exascale computing possible. 

The power, space and cooling necessities for current supercomputers based on complementary metal oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology are becoming unmanageable, noted C3 program manager Marc Manheimer in a statement.

On the other hand, Manheimer said that the computers, which will be based on superconducting logic integrated with new cryogenic memory, will allow the expansion of current computing facilities without going beyond the allocated space and energy budgets.

Another benefit is that superconductors can operate at near absolute zero temperatures, keeping heat at a minimum in circuits and transistors. This technology will enable supercomputer development beyond the exascale.

IARPA divided the C3 program into two phases. The first phase, which will run for three years, will serve primarily to build the technologies required to demonstrate a small superconducting processor. For the final two years, phase two will integrate the new technologies into the working model of a superconducting computer.

Meanwhile, IBM and Nvidia are ready to build two 150-petaflop supercomputers for the U.S. Department of Energy, which will be by far the most efficient supercomputers in the world.

TagsIARPA, International Business Machines Corp, Northrop Grumman Corp, Raytheon BBN Technologies, Supercomputers, Superconducting computers