Science experts at a US university have created a new type of semiconductor technology which could be used to deliver major improvements in future computer design.
Ohio State University researchers have created a plastic computer memory device that stores and records data via the orientation or spin of electrons, instead of the standard binary code of ones and zeroes.
This method, known as spintronics, could help to solve many of the problems seen in traditional microelectronic solutions, including their large power consumption and size.
The magnetic polymer semiconductor used in this study, vanadium tetracyanoethanide, also utilises organic materials, which could lead to the creation of all-organic semiconductor-based devices in future.
Researcher Arthur Epstein said: Spintronics is often just seen as a way to get more information out of an electron, but really its about moving to the next generation of electronics.
This comes after JILA scientists discovered a new way of removing impurities when manufacturing semiconductors earlier this month, which could help to revolutionise the way electronic components are made.
