New research has identified a new way of producing miniature memory cells using nanocrystal wires, which will allow for the creation of denser electronic components.
Rice University experts are working with technology firm PrivaTran to create components using wires as small as 5 nanometres wide, which would allow a larger number of elements to be utilised inside ultra-dense chips.
This would allow semiconductor manufacturers to fit more information into a chip than ever before, with working prototypes containing as many as 1,000 memory elements.
Glenn Mortland, chief executive officer of PrivaTran, told the Austin American-Statesman: When you can demonstrate a 1K memory array on a lab bench, people in the semiconductor industry take notice.
It is hoped that this technology can be commercialised in a variety of memory storage applications, including for space and military use.
This comes after HP and Hynix Semiconductor announced earlier this week that they are looking to bring a new type of electronic component called memristors to market, which can offer a superior means of data storage to current technology.
