Editor's Summary
2 July 2009
Volatile memories
As alternative technologies for non-volatile memories are looked at, the FeRAM (ferroelectric random access memory), which stores information on a ferroelectric layer, is a promising candidate. FeRAMs outperform most other non-volatile memory technologies in terms of power consumption and endurance, but current FeRAMs are limited by their destructive read operation and poor scalability (due to the capacitive readout). Garcia et al. show that by using a thin (1–3 nm) layer of BaTiO3 put under intense strain, a giant electroresistance can still be detected, even in such thin specimens. This makes it possible to detect a tunnelling current through the layer, and so to read out the polarization state of the material without destroying it in the process. The physical size of the bits can be scaled down to dimensions that would make high densities — around 25 Gb per square inch — achievable for these devices.
News and Views: Applied physics: A leak of information
As capacitors, the ubiquitous components of electronic circuitry, get smaller, keeping them insulating is a challenge. But that's not necessarily bad news — some conductivity might be just the thing for data storage.
Pavlo Zubko & Jean-Marc Triscone
doi:10.1038/460045a
Letter: Giant tunnel electroresistance for non-destructive readout of ferroelectric states
V. Garcia, S. Fusil, K. Bouzehouane, S. Enouz-Vedrenne, N. D. Mathur, A. Barthélémy & M. Bibes
doi:10.1038/nature08128
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (615K) | Supplementary information
