In 2018, researchers created the thinnest memory device to date. In this new work
When another metal atom enters thisnano-sized hole and fills it, it transfers some of its conductivity to the material, and this gives it the ability to remember. <…> The Holy Grail of science is when the scaling is reduced to the point where only one atom is responsible for memory. And that's what we achieved in the new study.
Deji Akinwande, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Despite the fact that the researchers usedmolybdenum disulfide, also known as MoS2, as the main nanomaterial in their research, they believe the discovery could be applied to hundreds of similar atomically thin materials.
Now there is a race to maximizereduce the size of the chip and its components. This makes sense; with smaller processors you can make smaller computers and phones. Reducing the size of chips also reduces their power consumption and increases capacity.
The new device belongs to the categoryMemristors are a popular area of memory research centered around electrical components with the ability to vary the resistance between its two terminals without the need for a third terminal in the middle, also known as a gate. So new devices can take up less space and be more spacious than modern information storage devices.
Read also
Scientists have identified the cause of the explosion in Beirut on social networks
Scientists have studied how COVID-19 is transmitted indoors
From January 1, all smartphones must have 16 Russian applications