23-03-2017, 09:30 AM
Plastics have long formed the skeletons and skin of products, while silicon has supplied the brains. With the advent of polymer and crystalline organic electronics, plastics will shape brains as well as brawn. Plastic chips can never be as fast or as miniaturized as silicon chips, but their production by convenient techniques, including inkjet printing, promises extremely cheap devices that could become ubiquitous in consumer products and appliances. Potential uses include information screens for appliances and computers, electronic paper, radio frequency identification tags, portable electronics, chemical sensors and pressure sensitive skin for robots. A conductive plastic has been used to create a new memory technology with the potential of storing a megabyte of data in a square millimeter device, 10 times denser than the current magnetic memories. The device should also be cheap and fast, but it can not be rewritten, so it would only be suitable for permanent storage.
A conductive plastic has been used to create a new memory technology with the potential of storing a megabyte of data in a square millimeter device, 10 times denser than the current magnetic memories. The device should also be cheap and fast, but it can not be rewritten, so it would only be suitable for permanent storage. Imagine a scenario where the memory stored in your digital camera or personal digital assistant is partially based on one of the most flexible materials made by man: plastic. Scientists at HP Labs and Princeton University are excited about new memory technology that could store more data and cost less than traditional silicon-based chips for mobile devices such as laptops, cell phones, and MP3 players. But this chip is different from silicon technologies, such as the popular flash memory, researchers said, because it is partially made of plastic, in addition to an aluminum substrate and some silicon. And although flash memory can be rewritten, new technology can be written only once. But it can be read several times and retains the data without power because it does not require a laser or a motor to read or write. HP scientist Warren Jackson said simplifying the production of such memory chips is a key factor because it has the potential to reduce the cost of using memory on a per-megabyte basis for customers. However, this technology could store more data than flash, and maybe even become fast enough to store video, he said. "This has the ability to work for a slightly different flash market, because now we would have the ability to not be able to write a lot of applications, but just read it to become a permanent record," Jackson told internetnews. Com
On the other hand, this could be favourable for companies concerned with compliance standards such as HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley, ensuring that the integrity of data on documents is retained for long periods of time, scientists said. According to research analysts, the search for alternative memory sources has become a popular research topic because flash memory is expected to reach serious limitations as the size of devices becomes smaller and smaller to accommodate a variety Of form factors. A smaller memory space means that transistors have more electricity and absorb more energy. But Gartner research analyst Richard Gordon said the engineering hurdles facing memory technologies go back more than 30 years and noted that last week Intel announced a new transistor to take care of the leak problem. "Flash technology is currently at a process node of the .11 micron level," said Gordon. "There is a roadmap to accommodate it over the next 10 years so it still has a lot of time to go before it is exhausted. 'T see that change unless there is a technology in terms of cost per bit and performance Blows flash out of the water ". Although unique, the concept of plastic or polymer-based memory is not totally alien. Rival chip makers are also studying polymer-based memory. Intel has a program to develop Ferro-electric polymer memory. AMD recently bought Coatue, one of several companies working on polymer memory, including Thin Film Electronics. Intel has a stake in this Swedish company.
A conductive plastic has been used to create a new memory technology with the potential of storing a megabyte of data in a square millimeter device, 10 times denser than the current magnetic memories. The device should also be cheap and fast, but it can not be rewritten, so it would only be suitable for permanent storage. Imagine a scenario where the memory stored in your digital camera or personal digital assistant is partially based on one of the most flexible materials made by man: plastic. Scientists at HP Labs and Princeton University are excited about new memory technology that could store more data and cost less than traditional silicon-based chips for mobile devices such as laptops, cell phones, and MP3 players. But this chip is different from silicon technologies, such as the popular flash memory, researchers said, because it is partially made of plastic, in addition to an aluminum substrate and some silicon. And although flash memory can be rewritten, new technology can be written only once. But it can be read several times and retains the data without power because it does not require a laser or a motor to read or write. HP scientist Warren Jackson said simplifying the production of such memory chips is a key factor because it has the potential to reduce the cost of using memory on a per-megabyte basis for customers. However, this technology could store more data than flash, and maybe even become fast enough to store video, he said. "This has the ability to work for a slightly different flash market, because now we would have the ability to not be able to write a lot of applications, but just read it to become a permanent record," Jackson told internetnews. Com
On the other hand, this could be favourable for companies concerned with compliance standards such as HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley, ensuring that the integrity of data on documents is retained for long periods of time, scientists said. According to research analysts, the search for alternative memory sources has become a popular research topic because flash memory is expected to reach serious limitations as the size of devices becomes smaller and smaller to accommodate a variety Of form factors. A smaller memory space means that transistors have more electricity and absorb more energy. But Gartner research analyst Richard Gordon said the engineering hurdles facing memory technologies go back more than 30 years and noted that last week Intel announced a new transistor to take care of the leak problem. "Flash technology is currently at a process node of the .11 micron level," said Gordon. "There is a roadmap to accommodate it over the next 10 years so it still has a lot of time to go before it is exhausted. 'T see that change unless there is a technology in terms of cost per bit and performance Blows flash out of the water ". Although unique, the concept of plastic or polymer-based memory is not totally alien. Rival chip makers are also studying polymer-based memory. Intel has a program to develop Ferro-electric polymer memory. AMD recently bought Coatue, one of several companies working on polymer memory, including Thin Film Electronics. Intel has a stake in this Swedish company.