Takeuchi N, Yamanashi Y, Yoshikawa N
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Yokohama National University, Hodogaya, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2014 Sep 15;4:6354. doi: 10.1038/srep06354.
Reversible computing has been studied since Rolf Landauer advanced the argument that has come to be known as Landauer's principle. This principle states that there is no minimum energy dissipation for logic operations in reversible computing, because it is not accompanied by reductions in information entropy. However, until now, no practical reversible logic gates have been demonstrated. One of the problems is that reversible logic gates must be built by using extremely energy-efficient logic devices. Another difficulty is that reversible logic gates must be both logically and physically reversible. Here we propose the first practical reversible logic gate using adiabatic superconducting devices and experimentally demonstrate the logical and physical reversibility of the gate. Additionally, we estimate the energy dissipation of the gate, and discuss the minimum energy dissipation required for reversible logic operations. It is expected that the results of this study will enable reversible computing to move from the theoretical stage into practical usage.
自罗尔夫·兰道尔提出后来被称为兰道尔原理的观点以来，可逆计算就一直受到研究。该原理指出，可逆计算中的逻辑操作不存在最小能量耗散，因为它不会伴随着信息熵的减少。然而，到目前为止，尚未证明有实际可用的可逆逻辑门。其中一个问题是，可逆逻辑门必须使用极其节能的逻辑器件来构建。另一个困难是，可逆逻辑门必须在逻辑上和物理上都是可逆的。在此，我们提出了首个使用绝热超导器件的实际可用可逆逻辑门，并通过实验证明了该门的逻辑和物理可逆性。此外，我们估算了该门的能量耗散，并讨论了可逆逻辑操作所需的最小能量耗散。预计这项研究的结果将使可逆计算从理论阶段进入实际应用阶段。
