The Inventor
& the Lab
The story behind the THATTE balanced ternary computing project — from a 2006 insight to a twelve-patent portfolio filed with the Indian Patent Office.
Manish Jagdish Thatte
I am an independent inventor and researcher based in Nashik, Maharashtra, India. My work focuses on alternative computing paradigms — specifically photonic-ternary computing — from the device level through to operating systems and compilers.
The THATTE project represents twenty years of work on a single question: what would a computer look like if it had been designed from first principles around three logic states, not two?
The 2006 Insight
In 2006, while studying the behaviour of carbon nanotube devices in the literature, I noticed something that seemed obvious in retrospect but had not been systematically pursued: a metallic carbon nanotube can conduct current in either direction with equal symmetry, making it a natural three-state device. Positive current, zero current, negative current — three states, not two.
The implications were immediate: if the device is naturally three-state, build a three-state logic family around it. And if you are building a three-state logic family, balanced ternary is the mathematically optimal encoding. From there, the entire stack unfolds: gates, standard cells, processor, compiler, operating system.
This insight is documented in a notarized affidavit (Exhibit A, attached to Patent Thatte1), establishing the 2006 conception date for the core THATTE device concept. The affidavit was executed before a notary public on 21 March 2026 as part of the patent filing process.
The twenty years between that observation and the filings are set out in order, with dates, on the maniTLab timeline.
Lab Mission
maniTLab exists to prove that balanced ternary computing is not a historical curiosity or an academic exercise. It is a practical, physically realisable alternative to binary that becomes increasingly attractive as binary scaling approaches its limits.
The mission has three phases:
Establish the Patent Portfolio
Twelve patents (complete specifications) filed with IPO India, covering the complete hardware-to-software stack.
Physical Device Demonstration
Fabricate the SWCNT@MWCNT device and demonstrate photonic-ternary switching in the lab. Validate NEGF simulation results experimentally.
Open Licensing & Collaboration
License the technology to semiconductor fabs, EDA vendors, and research institutions. Build the ternary computing ecosystem.
Proof of Work
The THATTE project is unusual in that it does not just describe a system — it delivers working implementations at every layer:
- NEGF quantum transport: Kwant NEGF simulation of SWCNT@MWCNT device confirmed digital-grade signal-to-noise ratio with perfect current symmetry across all three trit states (full data under NDA)
- Compiled kernel: THATTEOS 0.1.0 compiles to
.t3bbinaries with full execution traces - Working compiler: ManiT v0.1.0 compiles all kernel modules successfully
- Encoding table: 128-entry ASCII-to-balanced-ternary table verified
- Patent documents: 12 complete specifications filed with IPO India — 6 in April 2026, 6 in August 2026
This level of implementation detail in a patent filing is uncommon. It reflects a deliberate choice: to make the inventions undeniable, not just describable.
The software half of that is public and checkable: the compiler and the kernel are released under AGPL-3.0 on the open source page, and the papers and archived releases carry DOIs on publications.
Full Technical Brief Available Under NDA
Simulation data, quantum transport results, fabrication specifications, and complete patent claims are shared under mutual NDA only.
New research, patent updates and essays, as a feed your reader collects for you.
RSS Feed →Press & Contact
For research collaboration, licensing enquiries, technical questions, or press requests, contact:
Personal essays on physics, philosophy, and the questions at the edge of what measuring sciences can reach.
My Musings →"Binary computing succeeded not because it is optimal, but because silicon transistors happened to be easiest to make bi-stable. Carbon nanotubes do not have this constraint. The SWCNT@MWCNT device is naturally three-state — photon plus AC pulse polarity gives you signed current trits. It would be a missed opportunity not to build the computing stack that matches."
What Was Built
From a single transistor to a running operating system, every layer designed from first principles around balanced ternary.
Device to Processor
SWCNT@MWCNT device, photonic trit switching, CVD fabrication, standard cell library, PANINI processor — NEGF verified.
Compiler & OS
ManiT compiler for T3ISA, THATTEOS microkernel with scheduler, IRQ handler, privilege domains — compiled and running.
Memory, Interconnect & Security
Memory, bus, trit-trie search circuit, crypto hardware, DFT/BIST — with 128-entry ASCII encoding table.
Array & Contactless Device
Three-dimensional array whose vertical interconnects address devices and carry heat at once, and an all-photonic device variant with no electrical contacts at all.
Binary Bridge & Ternary NPU
Bidirectional translation to binary buses, so ternary compute fits inside existing infrastructure — and a neural processing unit that runs ternary-quantised networks natively.
Error Correction & Qutrit
Error correction over GF(3) where field multiplication is wiring rather than gates, and the same two-nanotube device operating as a three-level quantum unit when cooled.