In the burgeoning realm of artificial intelligence (AI), the pursuit of In-Memory Computing (IMC) is paramount. This relentless pursuit, aimed at catalyzing ultra-fast and energy-efficient AI computations, is emblematic of the cutting-edge innovations at the nexus of Ferroelectric FET (FeFET) technology. In this talk, we will showcase the latest advancements in FeFETs, spanning from traditional IMC-based hardware accelerators to monolithic 3D integration using advanced back-end-of-line (BEOL) thin-film transistors. We will elucidate the inherent challenges posed by ferroelectric stochasticity along with temperature effects, and demonstrate innovative strategies, such as using thermoelectric devices for advanced on-chip cooling, to mitigate their adverse impacts, paving the way for reliable computing using FeFET-based IMC.
Short Bio: Hussam Amrouch is a W3-Professor heading the Chair of AI Processor Design at the Technical University of Munich. He is, additionally, heading the Brain-inspired Computing at the Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI). Further, he is the head of the Semiconductor Test and Reliability at the University of Stuttgart. He received his Ph.D. degree with the highest distinction (summa cum laude) from KIT in 2015. He has around 220 publications (including more than 90 journals) in multidisciplinary research areas starting from device physics to circuit design and HW/SW co-design. His research interest is brain-inspired computing using emerging technologies with a special focus on reliability. He has served in the technical program committees in all major EDA conferences and as a reviewer in many top journals like Nature Electronics, Nature Communications. He is also as Editor at the Nature Scientific Reports journal.
In the past two decades, the shift towards a distributed computing paradigm led our smart systems to become more and more interconnected. These systems need to elaborate increasingly amount of data while featuring low-power operation, area efficiency, and ability to interact with the external world in real time. Memristive technology, with its unique characteristics and capabilities, holds great promise for the design of such cognitive systems. The potential for energy-efficient and parallel computing, combined with the ability to integrate complex neural and synaptic dynamics within a single device, provides avenues for high-performance hardware implementations. Moreover, by offering volatile and non-volatile memory in a small footprint, enabling dense integration, and facilitating in-memory computing, memristive technology presents advantages that, if correctly combined with CMOS technology, can extend the functionality of current artificial intelligent systems.
In this talk, we discuss the challenges and the opportunities to realise memristive neuromorphic computing by developing novel hardware architectures and learning algorithms specifically tailored to best exploit the intrinsic properties of memristive technology. Indeed, we show that memristive technology offers vast potential, but its effective utilization relies on the synergetic development of memristive devices, circuits, and algorithms to create performing hardware cognitive systems.
Short Bio: Dr. Erika Covi is currently Senior Scientist at NaMLab gGmbH, Dresden (Germany), where she is the leader of the Cognitive Systems group. Starting from 1st January 2024, she will join the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials & Groningen Cognitive Systems and Materials Center (Groningen, the Netherlands) as assistant professor.
She received her PhD in Microelectronics in 2014 from the University of Pavia (Italy), where she worked on designing integrated systems for the characterisation of memristive devices. Before joining NaMLab, she worked at the National Research Council (CNR) of Italy first, then at Politecnico di Milano (Italy).
She was awarded with an ERC Starting Grant for the project MEMRINESS on the development of memristive neurons and synapses for neuromorphic edge computing in 2021.
Her research interests lie at the intersection of emerging devices, circuit design, and brain-inspired computing. More specifically, they focus on exploiting the intrinsic physical characteristics of memristive devices to reproduce computational primitives of the brain in mixed neuromorphic-memristive systems.
Computing hardware is at a critical stage in its evolution. Our current AI computing demands, driven largely by the development of advanced Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) whose compute demands currently double every 2-3 months, are rapidly becoming unsustainable. New approaches are needed, and memristive devices and systems are a set of technologies that offer significant promise. In this talk I will review the prospects for memristors to make a decisive contribution to the future of computing. I will address challenges around materials engineering, device design, and the adoption of new technologies by the CMOS industry.
Short Bio: Anthony (Tony) Kenyon is Professor of Nanophotonic and Nanoelectronic Materials at University College London (UCL), where he also serves as Vice Dean (Strategy) for the Faculty of Engineering Sciences. His research interests cover memristive materials and devices, silicon photonics, nanophotonics and nanoelectronics. He has worked for more than a decade on silicon oxide (SiOx) memristive devices, probing the physics of resistance switching and demonstrating new modes of operation. Along with Dr Adnan Mehonic he co-founded Intrinsic Semiconductor Technologies Ltd to commercialise SiOx RRAM for non-volatile memories. Tony is a Fellow of the IoP and the IET, a Senior Member of the IEEE and is currently the President of the European Materials Research Society.
The computation demands of 21st-century abundant-data workloads, such as AI/machine learning, far exceed the capabilities of today’s computing systems. For example, a Dream AI Chip would ideally co-locate all memory and compute on a single chip, quickly accessible at low energy. Such Dream Chips aren’t realizable today. Computing systems instead use large off-chip memory and spend enormous time and energy shuttling data back and forth. This memory wall gets worse with growing problem sizes, especially as conventional transistor miniaturization gets increasingly difficult.
The next leap in computing requires transformative NanoSystems by exploiting the unique characteristics of nanotechnologies and abundant-data workloads. We create new chip architectures through ultra-dense 3D integration of logic and memory – the N3XT 3D approach. Multiple N3XT 3D chips are integrated through a continuum of chip stacking/interposer/wafer-level integration — the N3XT 3D MOSAIC. To scale with growing problem sizes, new Illusion systems orchestrate workload execution on N3XT 3D MOSAIC creating an illusion of a Dream Chip with near-Dream energy and throughput.
Several hardware prototypes, built in commercial and research fabrication facilities, demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach. We target 1,000X system-level energy-delay-product benefits, especially for abundant-data workloads. We also address new ways of ensuring robust system operation despite growing challenges of design bugs, manufacturing defects, reliability failures, and security attacks.
Short Bio: Subhasish Mitra is William E. Ayer Professor in the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Stanford University. He is also the Associate Chair (Faculty Affairs) of Computer Science. Prof. Mitra directs the Stanford Robust Systems Group, leads the Computation Focus Area of the Stanford SystemX Alliance, and is a member of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute. His research ranges across Robust Computing, NanoSystems, Electronic Design Automation (EDA), and Neurosciences. Results from his research group have influenced almost every contemporary electronic system, and have inspired significant government and research initiatives in multiple countries. He has held several international academic appointments — the Carnot Chair of Excellence in NanoSystems at CEA-LETI in France, Invited Professor at EPFL in Switzerland, and Visiting Professor at the University of Tokyo in Japan. Prof. Mitra also has consulted for major technology companies including Cisco, Google, Intel, Samsung, and Xilinx (now AMD).
In the field of Robust Computing, he has created many key approaches for circuit failure prediction, on-line diagnostics, QED system validation, soft error resilience, and X-Compact test compression. Their adoption by industry is growing rapidly, in markets ranging from cloud computing to automotive systems. His X-Compact approach has proven essential for cost-effective manufacturing and high-quality testing of almost all 21st century systems, enabling billions of dollars in cost savings.
With his students and collaborators, he demonstrated the first carbon nanotube computer. They also demonstrated the first 3D NanoSystem with computation immersed in data storage. These received wide recognition: cover of NATURE, Research Highlight to the US Congress by the NSF, and highlight as "important scientific breakthrough" by global news organizations.
Prof. Mitra's honors include the Harry H. Goode Memorial Award (by the IEEE Computer Society for outstanding contributions in the information processing field), Newton Technical Impact Award in EDA (test-of-time honor by ACM SIGDA and IEEE CEDA), the University Researcher Award (by the Semiconductor Industry Association and Semiconductor Research Corporation to recognize lifetime research contributions), the Intel Achievement Award (Intel’s highest honor), and the US Presidential Early Career Award. He and his students have published over 10 award-winning papers across 5 topic areas (technology, circuits, EDA, test, verification) at major venues including the Design Automation Conference, International Solid-State Circuits Conference, International Test Conference, Symposium on VLSI Technology, Symposium on VLSI Circuits, and Formal Methods in Computer-Aided Design. He is an ACM Fellow, an IEEE Fellow, and a Distinguished Alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
The Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden), recognized as one of Germany's elite "Universities of Excellence," has been a key beneficiary of funding under the Excellence Strategy program by the Federal and State Governments since November 1, 2019.
This prestigious status is a reflection of TU Dresden's role as a major technical university in Germany, renowned for its innovative research and high-quality education. The Excellence title not only highlights the university's potential but also embodies the responsibility and motivation to further enhance its standing in the academic world.
Crucial to TU Dresden's excellence is its involvement in the DRESDEN-concept research alliance, established in 2010. This alliance, which includes 36 partners such as local institutions of the Max Planck Society, the Leibniz Association, the Helmholtz Association, the Fraunhofer Society, and renowned cultural institutions, is a testament to the collaborative spirit that drives the university's research and teaching efforts.
DRESDEN-concept’s mission is to foster cooperation among these partners, leveraging synergies in research, teaching, infrastructure, and administration. The acronym DRESDEN, standing for Dresden Research and Education Synergies for the Development of Excellence and Novelty, aptly encapsulates this mission, highlighting initiatives like coordinating research priorities, attracting top talent, and shared resource utilization.
The collaborative environment fostered by DRESDEN-concept has been instrumental in TU Dresden's success in federal and state excellence competitions, contributing significantly to its renewed title of excellence. The alliance not only breaks down institutional and disciplinary barriers but also creates an ideal setting for innovation and scientific discovery in Dresden.
The proximity of its partners, sustainable infrastructure use, and the establishment of joint research priorities underscore Dresden's position as a preeminent science hub.
Currently, there is an ongoing initiative to transform the Dresden science hub into a DRESDEN-concept Science and Innovation Campus.
This development signifies a commitment to further enhance the collaborative and innovative environment that TU Dresden and its partners have cultivated, ensuring that the university not only maintains its status as a University of Excellence but continues to set new benchmarks in the realms of scientific research and higher education.
Bright Minds. Excellent Research. © AVANGA Filmproduktion
NANOARCH 2023 will be held in the Dülfer Hall (Google Maps), located in the Alte Mensa (old university canteen) of TU Dresden, which claims to be the oldest university dining hall of Germany. The Dülfer Hall, a multipurpose event room of TU Dresden's Rectorate, is named after the renowned architect Martin Dülfer, known for his contributions to architecture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Dülfer was a pioneer of the Jugendstil movement in Germany, which is the German equivalent of Art Nouveau, and his architectural style is noted for its innovative and decorative elements.
© Sven Geise
© Christian Bruchatz
Dresden, a city with deep historical roots, was initially established as a merchant settlement and sovereign fortress on the site of a Slavic fishing village.
Since the 15th century, it has served as the residence for the Saxon dukes, electors, and later, kings, playing a pivotal role in the region's governance and cultural development.
Throughout its history, Dresden has witnessed periods of both extraordinary splendor and profound tragedy.
In the 18th century, it emerged as a magnificent hub of European politics, culture, and economy, renowned for its artistic and architectural achievements.
This era saw the city flourish as a center of the arts, science, and enlightenment, attracting artists, architects, and intellectuals from across Europe.
The city's architectural landscape, characterized by baroque and rococo influences, became emblematic of its cultural richness.
Notable buildings such as the Zwinger Palace and the Frauenkirche are testaments to this golden age, reflecting the artistic and architectural prowess that defined Dresden during this period.
However, the 20th century brought a drastic shift to Dresden's fate. The city became synonymous with apocalyptic destruction during World War II, particularly due to the extensive bombing in February 1945,
which devastated much of its historic center. This tragic event marked a significant turning point in Dresden's history, leading to widespread loss and the alteration of its historic skyline.
Despite these challenges, Dresden has demonstrated remarkable resilience and a commitment to rebuilding and preserving its heritage.
Post-war reconstruction efforts have been focused on restoring and replicating its historic architecture, reviving the city's cultural and artistic legacy.
Today, Dresden stands as a symbol of rebirth and renewal, having successfully blended its restored historical buildings with modern architecture to create a unique urban landscape.
For the people of Dresden and its admirers worldwide, the city continues to be a place of unparalleled charm and significance.
Its rich history, combined with its capacity for renewal and adaptation, continues to captivate and inspire.
Dresden's resilience in the face of adversity, its cultural and historical significance, and its ongoing commitment to preserving and celebrating its heritage, make it a city of enduring fascination and importance in the global landscape.
Immerse yourself in the enchanting allure of Dresden during the Christmas season, a time when this historical city dons a festive cloak, transforming its breathtaking blend of romantic landscapes, baroque architecture, and historic charm into a winter fairy tale. Dresden's unparalleled beauty and rich cultural tapestry make it an unmissable destination for holiday revelers from across the globe.
Dresden's Christmas Markets: A Festive Wonderland
Experience the magic of Dresden's Christmas markets, where the scent of mulled wine and gingerbread fills the air.
The Striezelmarkt, one of Germany's oldest and most famous Christmas markets, is a must-visit.
Here, you can explore a plethora of stalls offering traditional crafts, seasonal treats, and unique gifts.
The market is especially renowned for its festive decorations and the towering Christmas pyramid, a symbol of the region's holiday traditions.
Explore the complete calendar of all Dresden Christmas Markets for the year 2023.
Culinary Delights: A Taste of Dresden's Christmas
Altstadt (Old City): Where Art Meets Architecture
In Dresden's historic center, located along the scenic left bank of the Elbe, every corner tells a story.
This area, adorned with buildings from the Renaissance, Baroque, and 19th century, offers a visual feast, particularly from the opposite riverbank.
Key attractions within walking distance of each other include:
Neustadt ("New" City): A Fusion of History and Modernity
Dresden's Neustadt district, where the city's baroque essence is most concentrated, offers a captivating mix of history and contemporary culture.
Wander through its winding alleys, discover hidden gems in its picturesque courtyards, and soak in the artistic atmosphere.
Highlights include:
