Transparent, flexible memory chips could replace flash
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A new type of transparent, flexible memory chip could replace flash memory in electronic devices (Photo via Shutterstock)
Because they are both transparent and flexible, the chips could allow touchscreens to double as a memory location (Photo: Tour Lab/Rice University)
Article Summary
According to Dr. James M. Tour, a synthetic organic chemist at Houston’s Rice University, flash memory devices can only be built smaller for another six to seven years – at that point, they will reach a technological barrier. Already, however, Tour and his colleagues have developed a new type of memory chip, which they believe could replace flash in thumb drives, smartphones and computers. Not only does their chip allow more data to be stored in a given space, but it can also be folded like paper, withstand temperatures of up to 1,000ºF (538ºC), and is transparent – this means that devices’ screens could also serve as their memory.
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