An international team of researchers are tapping the potential of graphene for improving the electronic memory devices.
Graphene, also called as, "wonder material," is being used to overcome problems associated with improving the speed and storage density of electronic memory devices. These devices are being progressively expected to provide quicker access to information and also have a larger storage density. Increasing the storage density causes a corresponding increase in undesirable heat generation and power consumption, which reduces the reliability of accessing the memory for needed information.
Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles are leading the international team in this study. They state that different types of platforms exist for overcoming the hurdles faced in improving the electronic memory devices.
Spin-transfer-torque devices depend on an intelligent technique for accessing and storing information in magnetic dipole moments. These magnetic dipole moments are like hard drives. In ferroelectric-field-effect-transistor (FFET) class of devices, information or data can be stored as electric dipole moments in ferroelectric materials. In this study, the research team used the "wonder material" graphene for reading and writing the electric dipole moments of the ferroelectric material lying underneath. Graphene-FFETs have a low operating voltage and high fidelity, which is a major advantage for enhancing the speed of the electronic memory devices.
The research on graphene ferroelectric memory has been accepted for publication in American Institute of Physics’ Applied Physics Letters.
Source: http://www.aip.org/