Cornell University scientists have created a new kind of low-power microchip called a “microwave brain,” capable of processing both ultrafast data and wireless communication signals by using the unique properties of microwaves.
Recently described in the journal Nature Electronics, this processor is the first fully functional microwave neural network built directly on a silicon chip. It performs real-time computations in the frequency domain for demanding tasks such as radio signal decoding, radar tracking, and digital data processing, all while consuming under 200 milliwatts of power.
“Because it’s able to distort in a programmable way across a wide band of frequencies instantaneously, it can be repurposed for several computing tasks,” said lead author Bal Govind, a doctoral student who conducted the research with Maxwell Anderson, also a doctoral student. “It bypasses a large number of signal processing steps that digital computers normally have to do.”
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