Researchers create graphite memory only 10 atoms thick

Researchers at Rice University have demonstrated a new data storage medium made out of a layer of graphite only 10 atoms thick. The technology could potentially provide many times the capacity of current flash memory and withstand temperatures of 200 degrees Celsius and radiation that would make solid-state disk memory disintegrate. The team, lead by professor James Tour, included postdoctoral researchers Yubao Li and Alexander Sinitskii. In an interview, Tour said laboratory tests started a year and a half ago but his team only recently published a paper on the results. Laboratory tests showed that they were able to grow graphene, which technically is 10 or fewer layers of graphite, atop silicon and use it to store a bit of data. The sheets were roughly 5 nanometers in diameter. Graphene is a form of carbon. "Though we grow it from the vapor phase, this material is just like graphite in a pencil. You slide these right off the end of your pencil onto paper. If you were to place Scotch tape over it and pull up, you can sometimes pull up as small as one sheet of graphene. It is a little under 1 nanometer thick," Tour said. The new solid-state memory is one of many next-generation technologies that could someday replace NAND flash memory at the 20 nanometer (nm) node size. Others include race track memory and phase-change memory. Currently, NAND flash memory can be as small as 45nm in size, but projections show the technology will reach its limit of 20nm by around 2012. By using graphene, Tour said, bits could be made smaller than 10nm in size. Unlike NAND flash memory, which is controlled by three terminals or wires, the graphene memory requires two terminals, making it more viable for three-dimensional or stacked graphene arrays -- multiplying a chip's capacity with every layer, according to Tour. But like flash memory, chips made with graphene will consume virtually no power while keeping data intact. Tour also said graphene generates little heat, making it more suitable to three-dimensional or stacked memory. Graphene also distinguishes itself from future storage mediums through its "on-off ratio" or the amount of electricity a circuit holds when it's on compared with when it's off. "It's huge -- a million to one," Tour said. "Phase change memory, the other thing the industry is considering, runs at 10-to-1. That means the 'off' state holds, say, one-tenth the amount of electrical current than the 'on' state.special enquiry detail full crack apk blast thru game full version wechat terbaru untuk s60v3 angry birds kindle fire walkthrough edimax rt6x wireless lan card driver gateway 450rgh ethernet controller driver pingchat for android tablet do adobe flash player gratis Brazilian heroes of might and magic 4 the gathering storm