Editor's Summary
25 January 2007
Molecular memory
The miniaturization of integrated circuits could stall in 20 years or so, when current technologies will scale down no further. Miniaturization beyond that point might be possible with DRAMs (dynamic random access memories, a concept derived from molecular electronics), the use of nanowires, and defect-tolerant architectures. Small, error-tolerant memory circuits combining these features have already been demonstrated, but this approach moves to another level with the development of a 160,000-bit molecular electronic memory, roughly analogous to a projected 'year 2020' DRAM circuit. The circuit still has large numbers of non-working memory bits, but they are readily identified and isolated; the working bits can then be configured as a fully functional random access memory. In a News Feature, Philip Ball looks at the computer architectures needed to exploit hyper-dense molecular memories.
News Feature: High-density memory: A switch in time
By 2020 the semiconductor industry wants a memory device that can store a trillion bits of information in an area the size of a postage stamp. As companies race towards this goal, chemists are coming up with an unusual approach. Philip Ball reports.
doi:10.1038/445362a
Letter: A 160-kilobit molecular electronic memory patterned at 1011 bits per square centimetre
doi:10.1038/nature05462
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (894K) | Supplementary information
