FIRST TIME EVER: A team of researchers controlled a bismuth ferrite memory unit using laser illumination, reducing delay in data access and energy consumption
Taipei Times
Date: May 23, 2019
By: Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter
A team led by National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) physicists yesterday announced a
National Cheng Kung University Department of Physics professor Chen Yi-chun and assistant professor Yang Jan-chi, second and third left, hold samples of their optically controlled bismuth ferrite memory material at the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Chien Hui-ju, Taipei Times
major breakthrough regarding a next-generation memory storage material that is expected to multiply the efficiency of memory units and pave the way for quantum technology development.
Traditional memory devices process information based on two logic states — zero and one — while their efficiency can be improved only by increasing the density of components and reducing their size, department of physics assistant professor Yang Jan-chi (楊展其) said.
To eliminate the bottleneck in memory development, the team turned to an alternative material — bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3), a material that can record eight logic states and keep the stored information for up to a year even when it is not powered or is heated up to 400°C, Yang said.
The main breakthrough involves controlling the material through laser illumination, which helps reduce delays in the reading of data and energy consumption, while boosting calculation efficiency, he said. [FULL STORY]
