Following a roadmap for organic and printed electronics a new concept for a very cheap plastic nanotech memory has been developed by combining the favorable properties of ferroelectrics and semiconductors. From the University of Groningen, via Nanowerk News “Researchers develop ultra low-cost plastic memory“
Researchers at the Zernike Institute of Advanced Materials at the University of Groningen have developed a technology for a plastic ferro-electric diode which they believe will achieve a breakthrough in the development of ultra low-cost plastic memory material. Their findings will be published in the July edition of Nature Materials [abstract], a publication of the leading scientific journal Nature.
The newly developed technology is similar to that used in Flash memory chips. In both cases, the memory retains data without being connected to a power source. Flash memory chips are used in memory sticks, MP3 players, cellular phones and in the memory cards of digital cameras. The researchers at the Zernike Institute of Advanced Materials expect the new technology to lead to the development of comparable products possibly even more significant. One product they have in mind is an electronic price tag which could be read radiographically at the cash desk of retail stores, replacing the bar codes currently in use. Another possible application is for the material to be used in packaging material which could warn consumers when a product is nearing its expiration date.
…The breakthrough … is based on a radically new concept: instead of stacking a layer of semiconducting material on a layer of ferro-electric material, a mixture of these two materials is used. The ferro-electric characteristic of the mixture is then used to direct current through the semi-conducting part of the mixture.
The new memory diode can be programmed quickly, retains data for a long time and operates at room temperature. The voltages needed for programming are low enough for the diode to be used in commercial applications and the material can be manufactured at low cost using large-scale industrial production techniques.