Continuum Computer Architecture (CCA) is a nonvon
Neumann architecture that offers an alternative
to conventional structures as digital technology
evolves towards nano-scale and the ultimate flatlining
of Moore’s Law. Coincidentally, it also defines
a model of architecture particularly well suited to
logic classes that exhibit ultra-high clock rates (> 100
GHz) such as Rapid Single Flux Quantum (RSFQ)
gates. CCA eliminates the concept of the “CPU” that
has dominated computer architecture since its
inception more than half a century ago and
establishes a new local element that merges the
properties of state storage, state transfer, and state
operation. A CCA system architecture is a simple
multidimensional organization of these elemental
blocks and physically may be considered as a new
family of cellular computer. But CCA differs
dramatically from conventional cellular automata.
While both deliver emergent global behavior from
the aggregation of local rules and ensuing operation,
The CCA emergent behavior is a global generalpurpose
model of parallel computation, as opposed to
simply mimicking some limited phenomenon like
heat and mass transfer as do conventional cellular
automata. This paper presents the motivation and
foundation concepts of CCA and exposes key issues
for further work.