MARQUISE
Encyclopedia
MARQUISE was a 1997 technology demonstration conducted by Silicon Graphics
/Cray
, the Department of Defense
, and the University of Maryland, College Park
. The achieved goal was to shrink a refrigerator-sized Cray J90
supercomputer
to fit in a standard 19-inch rack
for use in embedded defense applications aboard an aircraft. The project included research in packaging multiple integrated circuits onto a diamond
-substrate multi-chip module
(MCM) and spray-evaporative cooling, both of which found use in a later Cray product, the Cray X1
.
Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics, Inc. was a manufacturer of high-performance computing solutions, including computer hardware and software, founded in 1981 by Jim Clark...
/Cray
Cray
Cray Inc. is an American supercomputer manufacturer based in Seattle, Washington. The company's predecessor, Cray Research, Inc. , was founded in 1972 by computer designer Seymour Cray. Seymour Cray went on to form the spin-off Cray Computer Corporation , in 1989, which went bankrupt in 1995,...
, the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, and the University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
. The achieved goal was to shrink a refrigerator-sized Cray J90
Cray J90
The Cray J90 series was an air-cooled vector processor supercomputer first sold by Cray Research in 1994. The J90 evolved from the Cray Y-MP EL minisupercomputer, and is compatible with Y-MP software, running the same UNICOS operating system. The J90 supported up to 32 CMOS processors with a 10 ns...
supercomputer
Supercomputer
A supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...
to fit in a standard 19-inch rack
19-inch rack
A 19-inch rack is a standardized frame or enclosure for mounting multiple equipment modules. Each module has a front panel that is wide, including edges or ears that protrude on each side which allow the module to be fastened to the rack frame with screws.-Overview and history:Equipment designed...
for use in embedded defense applications aboard an aircraft. The project included research in packaging multiple integrated circuits onto a diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
-substrate multi-chip module
Multi-Chip Module
A multi-chip module is a specialized electronic package where multiple integrated circuits , semiconductor dies or other discrete components are packaged onto a unifying substrate, facilitating their use as a single component...
(MCM) and spray-evaporative cooling, both of which found use in a later Cray product, the Cray X1
Cray X1
The Cray X1 is a non-uniform memory access, vector processor supercomputer manufactured and sold by Cray Inc. since 2003. The X1 is often described as the unification of the Cray T90, Cray SV1, and Cray T3E architectures into a single machine...
.