This analysis demonstrates optimized control protocols for memory erasure speeds and heat dissipation in electronic circuits.
In this paper, we study the thermodynamic cost associated with erasing a static random access memory. Using the framework of stochastic thermodynamics applied to electronic circuits, combined with optimization techniques based on machine learning, we demonstrate that memory erasure can be performed at arbitrarily fast speeds while maintaining finite heat dissipation. Our results suggests that heat dissipation must increase linearly with the speed of erasure. In addition, we identify optimized control protocols that minimize dissipation, providing explicit guidelines for the thermodynamically efficient design of future memory technologies. Our work thus establishes a concrete link between abstract thermodynamic theory and practical applications in electronic engineering. Furthermore, we find driving protocols that minimize the heat dissipation, leading to explicit design principles for future computer memories. This bridges an important gap between the theoretical framework of stochastic thermodynamics and applications in electronic engineering.
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Basile et al. (2025) studied this question.
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