Thanks for the Plastic Memory

Are polymer memory devices (PMDs) the next big thing in chip technology? Silicon-based computer memory systems are costly and complex, and that's not likely to change much as silicon technologies go nano-scale. Then there's the matter of market size. Flash memory sales surpassed the $25-billion mark (USD) in 2010 and are expected to top $50 billion by 2015. There's also a large and growing market for personal computer (PC) dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips.

So what's so special about PMDs? Unlike silicon systems, polymer memory devices do not encode zeroes and ones as the amount of charge stored in a cell. Instead, PMDs store data based on the electrical resistance of the polymer chip. Applying an electric field can change a polymer's conductivity in a specific location, and this can be read as either zero or one in binary arithmetic. But plastic memory isn't interesting just because it's different than silicon. In addition to being cheaper, PMDs can store data when power to a device is turned off.

Today, the printed electronics industry uses polymer materials as substrates, conductors, semiconductors, and dielectrics. Tomorrow, printed radio frequency identification (RFID) tags may also be made of plastic. Because of its compatibility with sensor-enabled appliances and automobiles, printed RFID boasts the best market potential. As Wolfgang Clemens of PolyIC explains, "here one needs to take into account that printed electronics also enables the integration of different with smart objects".

Do polymer memory devices (PMD) have a bright future? Will you one day say, "I remember when memory was silicon?"

Source: TechNewsWorld