19-04-2016, 09:19 AM
Abstract
The first purely silicon oxide-based ‘Resistive RAM’ memory chip that can operate in ambient conditions – opening up the possibility of new super-fast memory - has been developed by researchers at UCL.Resistive RAM (or ‘ReRAM’) memory chips are based on materials, most often oxides of metals, whose electrical resistance changes when a voltage is applied – and they “remember” this change even when the power is turned off.ReRAM chips promise significantly greater memory storage than current technology, such as the Flash memory used on USB sticks, and require much less energy and space.The UCL team have developed a novel structure composed of silicon oxide, described in a recent paper in the Journal of Applied Physics, which performs the switch in resistance much more efficiently than has been previously achieved. In their material, the arrangement of the silicon atoms changes to form filaments of silicon within the solid silicon oxide, which are less resistive. The presence or absence of these filaments represents a ‘switch’ from one state to another.Unlike other silicon oxide chips currently in development, the UCL chip does not require a vacuum to work, and is therefore potentially cheaper and more durable. The design also raises the possibility of transparent memory chips for use in touch screens and mobile devices.
Introduction
Prosthetic Neuronal Memory Silicon Chip is a device that imitates the brain’s process of creating long-term memories. This device was designed by Theodore Berger, a Biomedical Engineer and Neurologist at University of Southern California. Berger started to work on this chip in the early 1990s. He and his colleagues have been able to implant electrodes into rats and monkeys that restore their memories after previously being impaired. While researchers are well into developing an actual memory prosthesis in animals, they still need to show that their chips can form long-term memories in many different behavioral situations. Berger hopes to eventually use these chips as electronic implants for humans whose brains that suffer from diseases such as Alzheimer's that disrupt neuronal networks.
The first purely silicon oxide-based ‘Resistive RAM’ memory chip that can operate in ambient conditions – opening up the possibility of new super-fast memory - has been developed by researchers at UCL.Resistive RAM (or ‘ReRAM’) memory chips are based on materials, most often oxides of metals, whose electrical resistance changes when a voltage is applied – and they “remember” this change even when the power is turned off.ReRAM chips promise significantly greater memory storage than current technology, such as the Flash memory used on USB sticks, and require much less energy and space.The UCL team have developed a novel structure composed of silicon oxide, described in a recent paper in the Journal of Applied Physics, which performs the switch in resistance much more efficiently than has been previously achieved. In their material, the arrangement of the silicon atoms changes to form filaments of silicon within the solid silicon oxide, which are less resistive. The presence or absence of these filaments represents a ‘switch’ from one state to another.Unlike other silicon oxide chips currently in development, the UCL chip does not require a vacuum to work, and is therefore potentially cheaper and more durable. The design also raises the possibility of transparent memory chips for use in touch screens and mobile devices.
Introduction
Prosthetic Neuronal Memory Silicon Chip is a device that imitates the brain’s process of creating long-term memories. This device was designed by Theodore Berger, a Biomedical Engineer and Neurologist at University of Southern California. Berger started to work on this chip in the early 1990s. He and his colleagues have been able to implant electrodes into rats and monkeys that restore their memories after previously being impaired. While researchers are well into developing an actual memory prosthesis in animals, they still need to show that their chips can form long-term memories in many different behavioral situations. Berger hopes to eventually use these chips as electronic implants for humans whose brains that suffer from diseases such as Alzheimer's that disrupt neuronal networks.