Design and Characterization of Quantum Cellular Automata (QCA) Based Optimized Circuits for Emerging Technologies

Quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) is one of the possible technologies to replace CMOS technology. It is a novel technology that promises smaller size, lower power consumption, with faster speed and is considered a solution to the scaling problems in CMOS technology. We propose a novel design for QCA-based D-latch, XOR and XNOR gates. The proposed circuits are simple in design and occupy a fraction of the area, as compared to previous designs. It is a single-layer design consisting of only 8 cells for QCA XOR and XNOR gates, and 16 cells for QCA D- Latch. Our simulation results are based on both types of simulation engines, i.e. Bistable Approximation and Coherence Vector. It was observed that all the proposed circuits provide a similar output waveform for the temperature range from 1 to 4 K. The functionality of the proposed structures has been confirmed using the QCA Designer tool. Further, we have discussed the possible fabrication methods and possible ways to implement QCA-based circuits for large-scale integration,