Ultra-Fast Quantum-Dot Information Storage

Ultra-Fast Quantum-Dot Information Storage

The information-storage market is dominated by two main types: Flash memory, used in memory sticks and cell phones, and dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which is the main memory in a personal computer. Both types have their advantages and disadvantages, but a new type of memory, based on tiny atom clusters, called quantum dots, may soon displace both of them.

In research published in the March 4, 2008, online edition of Applied Physics Letters, scientists from the Technical University of Berlin, in Germany, and Istanbul University, in Turkey, describe how they created a type of quantum-dot-based memory device that can save information at speeds of only a few nanoseconds (billionths of a second).

The paper's lead author, Technical University of Berlin scientist Martin Geller, explained to PhysOrg.com, “Flash memory, which is today's market-driver in the semiconductor industry, and which everybody knows from memory sticks, digital cameras, and mp3-players, has a slow write time. The semiconductor industry is seeking faster Flash memories, but hasn't found an ultimate solution yet. Our quantum-dot-based memory may provide long storage time without power consumption of Flash memory, as wells as a fast write time and better scalability to real-life devices."

Technorati tags: computer storage, quantum dots