Critical temperature programmable logic

Summary: using a combination of superconductors and semiconductors in a programmable logic chip, wherein the temperature of the chip is lowered below the superconductor critical temperature in the programming phase and chip temperature is above critical temperature for active usage.

Programmable gate arrays (and in particular FPGA) are extremely useful devices primarily because of their adaptability. A logic circuit can be programmed (using software) onto a FPGA, and then the circuit can be slightly modified or completely overwritten. I am very interested in these amazing devices, particularly for their potential in AI (check out the article ‘Creatures from primordial silicon’ to see why).

Anyway, FPGA adaptability comes at the price of the complexity of the chip design. Specifically, there needs to be circuitry for both *programming* the chip and circuitry for *using* the chip. The circuitry required for programming the chip includes tracks and switches. As the number of logic gates increases, the complexity of programmable switches increases (I don’t have proof, it’s just an intuitively obvious). So eventually the complexity and size of programmable switches outweighs the number of logic gates, thus heading towards a ‘diminishing returns’ outcome.

So I propose the programming circuitry to be made of superconductors (eg high temperature superconductors), and the rest of the circuitry to be made of normal conductors and semiconductors. In programming mode the temperature of the circuit would be lowered to about -140C, then during normal operation raised to about -130C, Thus the programming circuit would change from being superconductors to electrical insulators, i.e. making the superconductor circuit electrically ‘appear’ and ‘disappear’ depending on temperature.

The main advantage of this is fewer programming switches since the temperature acts as a universal switch. This would lead to more efficient chip design, and possibly making them indefinitely scalable.