A new type of computing, where thermal noise is the information carrier and the clock in a computer, is proposed. The energy requirement/dissipation is studied in a simple digital system with zero threshold voltage when the thermal noise is equal to or greater than the digital signal. In a simple realization of a thermal noise driven gate, the lower limit of energy needed to generate the digital signal is 1.1 kTbit. The arrangement has potentially improved energy efficiency and it is free of leakage current, cross-talk, and ground plane electromagnetic interference problems. Disadvantage is the larger number of required elements. 2006 American Institute of Physics.
