What comes after Moore's Law: A comprehensive review of emerging computing paradigms

As Moore's Law continues to dictate exponential increases in computing power over the past few decades, hardware architectures are beginning to encounter physical limits that threaten the pace of progress. Microchip components have decreased in size to atomic scales, requiring advanced manufacturing techniques that drive up costs and introduce new obstacles. While Moore's Law has remarkably held true since its proposal in 1965, recent years have seen a diminishing rate of advancement as further size reductions become exponentially more challenging. As a result, researchers are exploring innovative computational approaches and technologies to continue advancing performance beyond traditional silicon-based transistors. This comprehensive review explores the physical barriers threatening Moore's Law's sustainability and investigates potential post-silicon alternatives in domains like quantum computing, neuromorphic architectures, and optical switching. The review finds that emerging technologies show promise in addressing specific computational problems but are not yet capable of fully replacing conventional digital systems. A hybrid model combining traditional and novel models may be needed to ensure ongoing gains in performance, albeit at a slower pace than silicon's historic trajectory.