Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Rice U. discovery may boost ReRAM memory technology

My favorite high-k metal oxide Ta2O5 is used again for a resistive RAM memory - this time with my least favorite material - Grrrraphene. Just can´t stand the hype I guess. Anyhow considering recent developments in cross bar Memory cell technology by Intel and Micron this could prove to be a future prospect.


A schematic shows the layered structure of tantalum oxide, multilayer graphene and platinum used for a new type of memory developed at Rice University. The memory device overcomes crosstalk problems that cause read errors in other devices. 
(Tour Group/Rice University)

PUBLIC RELEASE: 10-AUG-2015Rice U. discovery may boost memory technology
Rice University scientists make tantalum oxide practical for high-density devices


Scientists at Rice University have created a solid-state memory technology that allows for high-density storage with a minimum incidence of computer errors.

The memories are based on tantalum oxide, a common insulator in electronics. Applying voltage to a 250-nanometer-thick sandwich of graphene, tantalum, nanoporous tantalum oxide and platinum creates addressable bits where the layers meet. Control voltages that shift oxygen ions and vacancies switch the bits between ones and zeroes.

The discovery by the Rice lab of chemist James Tour could allow for crossbar array memories that store up to 162 gigabits, much higher than other oxide-based memory systems under investigation by scientists. (Eight bits equal one byte; a 162-gigabit unit would store about 20 gigabytes of information.)

Details appear online in the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters. More details can be found here: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-08/ru-rud081015.php

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