Home > Press > Nanodots Breakthrough May Lead to ‘A Library on One Chip’
Abstract:
A researcher at North Carolina State University has developed a computer chip that can store an unprecedented amount of data—enough to hold an entire library's worth of information on a single chip.
The new chip stems from a breakthrough in the use of nanodots, or nanoscale magnets, and represents a significant advance in computer-memory technology.
"We have created magnetic nanodots that store one bit of information on each nanodot, allowing us to store over one billion pages of information in a chip that is one square inch," says Dr. Jay Narayan, the John C. Fan Distinguished Chair Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at NC State and author of the research.
The breakthrough is that these nanodots are made of single, defect-free crystals, creating magnetic sensors that are integrated directly into a silicon electronic chip. These nanodots, which can be made uniformly as small as six nanometers in diameter, are all precisely oriented in the same way—allowing programmers to reliably read and write data to the chips.
The chips themselves can be manufactured cost-effectively, but the next step is to develop magnetic packaging that will enable users to take advantage of the chips—using something, such as laser technology, that can effectively interact with the nanodots.
The research, which was funded by the National Science Foundation, was presented as an invited talk April 7 at the 2011 Materials Research Society Spring Meeting in San Francisco.
NC State's Department of Materials Science and Engineering is part of the university's College of Engineering.
####
Copyright © National Science Foundation
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related Links |
Related News Press |
News and information
Getting a better look at living cells April 25th, 2018
Graphene origami as a mechanically tunable plasmonic structure for infrared detection April 25th, 2018
Nuclear radiation detecting device could lead to new homeland security tool: New device can detect gamma rays and identify radioactive isotopes April 25th, 2018
Biophysics -- lighting up DNA-based nanostructures April 25th, 2018
Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy
Getting a better look at living cells April 25th, 2018
Graphene origami as a mechanically tunable plasmonic structure for infrared detection April 25th, 2018
Nuclear radiation detecting device could lead to new homeland security tool: New device can detect gamma rays and identify radioactive isotopes April 25th, 2018
Organic solar cells reach record efficiency, benchmark for commercialization April 23rd, 2018
Possible Futures
Getting a better look at living cells April 25th, 2018
Graphene origami as a mechanically tunable plasmonic structure for infrared detection April 25th, 2018
Nuclear radiation detecting device could lead to new homeland security tool: New device can detect gamma rays and identify radioactive isotopes April 25th, 2018
Biophysics -- lighting up DNA-based nanostructures April 25th, 2018
Academic/Education
Lifeboat Foundation funds flying 3D-printed classroom cubesats with Perlan II April 16th, 2018
Chip Technology
Getting electrons to move in a semiconductor: Gallium oxide shows high electron mobility, making it promising for better and cheaper devices April 24th, 2018
New qubit now works without breaks: A universal design for superconducting qubits has been created April 19th, 2018
Salt boosts creation of 2-D materials: Rice University scientists show how salt lowers reaction temperatures to make novel materials April 18th, 2018
Memory Technology
Researchers develop nanoparticle films for high-density data storage: April 3rd, 2018
Unexpected effect could lead to lower-power memory, computing devices March 17th, 2018
The fine-tuning of two-dimensional materials March 1st, 2018
Nanoelectronics
Getting electrons to move in a semiconductor: Gallium oxide shows high electron mobility, making it promising for better and cheaper devices April 24th, 2018
New qubit now works without breaks: A universal design for superconducting qubits has been created April 19th, 2018
Non-toxic filamentous virus helps quickly dissipate heat generated by electronic devices April 4th, 2018
Announcements
Getting a better look at living cells April 25th, 2018
Graphene origami as a mechanically tunable plasmonic structure for infrared detection April 25th, 2018
Nuclear radiation detecting device could lead to new homeland security tool: New device can detect gamma rays and identify radioactive isotopes April 25th, 2018
Biophysics -- lighting up DNA-based nanostructures April 25th, 2018
Quantum Dots/Rods
Individual quantum dots imaged in 3-D for first time February 28th, 2018
Moving nanoparticles using light and magnetic fields January 25th, 2018
Tweaking quantum dots powers-up double-pane solar windows: Engineered quantum dots could bring down the cost of solar electricity January 2nd, 2018
Quantum communications bend to our needs: By changing the wavelengths of entangled photons to those used in telecommunications, researchers see quantum technology take a major leap forward September 28th, 2017
![]() |
||
![]() |
||
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
![]() |
![]() |
||
Premium Products | ||
![]() |
||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
![]() |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||
![]() |