Researchers at HP have solved the 37-year mystery of the memory resistor, the missing 4th circuit element (beyond the inductor, resistor and capacitor).
Known as memristor, Wikipedia gives some good examples of future use. They could begin to take the place of transistors in computers, saving space. “They can also be fashioned into non-volatile solid-state memory, which would allow greater data density than hard drives with access times potentially similar to DRAM, replacing both components.
“HP prototyped a crossbar latch memory using the devices that can fit 100 gigabits in a square centimeter. HP has reported that its version of the memristor is about one-tenth the speed of DRAM.
“Some patents related to memristors appear to include applications in programmable logic, signal processing, neural networks, and control systems.”
- HP’s Memristor tech – better than flash?
- Scientists Create First Memristor: Missing Fourth Electronic Circuit Element
- The Mysterious Memristor
- Memristors combine memory, logics set in one device
Cool fact:
The most advanced transistor technology today is based on minimum feature sizes of 30 to 40 nanometers — by contrast a biological virus is typically about 100 nanometers — and Dr. Williams said that H.P. now has working 3-nanometer memristors that can switch on and off in about a nanosecond, or a billionth of a second. He said the company could have a competitor to flash memory in three years that would have a capacity of 20 gigabytes a square centimeter. [full NYT article]
