Communications of the ACM
Tantalizing Discovery May Boost Memory Technology
Rice University researchers are looking to control the size of the tantalum oxide nanopores.
Credit: Rice University
Scientists at Rice University have created a new solid-state memory technology based on tantalum oxide, a common insulator used in electronics. Rice professor James Tour says the new memory could be used to make crossbar memory arrays with a capacity of 162 gigabits, which is much higher than the capacities of other oxide-based memory systems.
The memory involves a 250-nanometer-thick sandwich of graphene, tantalum, and nanoporous tantalum between a pair of platinum electrodes. Applying a voltage to the stack creates addressable bits where the layers meet. The new memory requires only two electrodes per circuit, compared to the three used in modern flash memory. Tour also notes the new design requires 100 times less energy than current memory devices and that it will be among the easiest ultradense memories to construct. "This will be a real competitor for the growing memory demands in high-definition video storage and server arrays," he says.
However, a few hurdles to commercializing the memory remain, according to lead researcher Gunuk Wang, a former Rice postdoctoral researcher, including finding ways to fabricate a dense enough crossbar device and fine-tuning the memory.
From Rice University
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