Buckyballs give flash a boost

April 23, 2008 | Source: Nature News

Flash memory could be made more efficient by using buckyballs, which would allow flash memory to operate at a lower voltage and save on power, Cornell University researchers have reported.

(Victor Habbick Visions/SPL)

(Victor Habbick Visions/SPL)

By adding buckyballs to the barrier layer, the Cornell engineers create resonances that amplify the current during the high-voltage write or erase phase. So the voltage needed during writing or erasing is lowered by an order of magnitude or more.