All computer data boils down to ones and zeros. Until now, that is. A team of computer engineers at the University of Pennsylvania have figured out how to throw a “two” into the mix using copper nanowires, adding a third dimension to computing. They call the data triumvirates “trits,” and they could vastly increase the capacity of memory storage devices.
It works like this: Each nanowire is made up of two materials, a central core and a casing. Flashing a current through the wire causes either the core or the casing to phase change from crystalized (neat and orderly) to amorphous (jumbled and messy). The whole wire can either be crystalized or amorphous, representing a one or a zero, a traditional bit. Zapping the core crystalized and the casing amorphous or vice versa, adds the “two,” giving birth to the “trit.”
Team member Ritesh Agarwal spoke to PhysOrg.com about the discovery:
“The use of nanowires to create electronic memory is advantageous for several reasons, but a non-binary form of nanowire memory like we have created could allow for a huge increase in the memory density of potential future devices.”
That means more memory in smaller packages and, eventually, digital wristwatches that are smarter than I am.
Link to PhysOrg.com article.
Photo: MRAM never forgets. Ever.
Any technology that employs “spintronics” has got to be aces. MRAM (Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory) exploits the quantum spin states of electrons to store and access data. It’s basically a matter of measuring the resistance caused by different magnetic fields, then making the stuff that generates those fields do what you want it to do. It involves a lot of technical jiggery-pokery, but the end result is RAM that can store data permanently like a hard drive or flash drive, but is as fast as volatile system RAM. MRAM can essentially replace all the memory in a computer—system RAM, video RAM and storage media. Oh, and it uses about 10 percent of the power of DRAM.
The technology has been chugging along on the flat bit of the exponential Kurzweil curve for a few decades now, but it could be ready to shoot into the stratosphere. Several major corporations have decided to dump research money and talent into MRAM and consumers could see MRAM-equipped electronics before 2015.
Freescale Semiconductor, a company that cut its teeth on the venerable Motorola PowerPC chips, announced this week that it will join forces with a few venture capital firms to make MRAM. The new venture, called EverSpin Technologies, will attempt to create MRAM chips that can compete with ever-improving flash memory.
Toshiba and Hitachi are also funding big MRAM projects, as are the U.S. and Korean governments. I can’t wait.
Link to Cnet story.
Link to gizmodo story.
