logic circuit
A logic gate is an idealized or physical device implementing a Boolean function, a logical operation performed on one or more binary inputs that produces a single binary output. Depending on the context, the term may refer to an ideal logic gat ...
element invented by
Eiichi Goto
was a Japanese computer scientist, the builder of one of the first general-purpose computers in Japan.
Biography
Goto was born on January 26, 1931, in Shibuya, Tokyo. After attending Seikei High School he went to Tokyo University, where he g ...
in 1954.Information Processing Society of Japan Parametron /ref> The parametron is essentially a
resonant circuit
An LC circuit, also called a resonant circuit, tank circuit, or tuned circuit, is an electric circuit consisting of an inductor, represented by the letter L, and a capacitor, represented by the letter C, connected together. The circuit can ac ...
with a nonlinear reactive element which oscillates at half the driving frequency. The oscillation can be made to represent a binary digit by the choice between two stationary phases π radians (180 degrees) apart.U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Class 307, Electrical Transmission or Interconnection Systems - Subclass 402, Parametrons /ref>
Parametrons were used in early
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese
computer
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...
s from 1954 through the early 1960s. A prototype parametron-based computer, the
PC-1
PC-1 (Pacific Crossing 1) is a submarine telecommunications cable system in the North Pacific Ocean linking the United States to Japan.
It has landing points in:
#Shima, Mie Prefecture, Japan
# Ajigaura, Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
...
, was built at the
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...
in 1958. Parametrons were used in early Japanese computers due to being reliable and inexpensive but were ultimately surpassed by
transistor
upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink).
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch e ...
s due to differences in speed.
See also
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Quantum flux parametron
A Quantum Flux Parametron (QFP) is a digital logic implementation technology based on superconducting Josephson junctions. QFP's were invented by Eiichi Goto at the University of Tokyo as an improvement over his earlier parametron based digital l ...
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Eiichi Goto
was a Japanese computer scientist, the builder of one of the first general-purpose computers in Japan.
Biography
Goto was born on January 26, 1931, in Shibuya, Tokyo. After attending Seikei High School he went to Tokyo University, where he g ...
*
MUSASINO-1 The MUSASINO-1 was one of the earliest electronic digital computers built in Japan. Construction started at the Electrical Communication Laboratories of NTT at Musashino, Tokyo in 1952 and was completed in July 1957. The computer was used until ...
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Magnetic amplifier
The magnetic amplifier (colloquially known as a "mag amp") is an electromagnetic device for amplifying electrical signals. The magnetic amplifier was invented early in the 20th century, and was used as an alternative to vacuum tube amplifiers wh ...
Parametric oscillator
A parametric oscillator is a driven harmonic oscillator in which the oscillations are driven by varying some parameter of the system at some frequency, typically different from the natural frequency of the oscillator. A simple example of a param ...