Atomic memory stores all books in the world in a stamp

Dutch scientists have developed a new generation of memory that can store information at separate chlorine atoms on a bronze base.

According to the BBC, this is the work of the research team led by Dr. Sander Otte, Delft Technical University.

With each bit of data represented by the location of a single chlorine atom , the team achieved a storage density of 500 terabit per square inch (about 6.5 cm square), for a large density of storage information. two to three times the current flash drive technology.

"In theory, this density allows storing all books written by humans so far in a stamp," Otte said. In other words, the entire contents of the US Congress library can be stored in a cube of 0.1mm size.

The researchers used a tunneling scanning microscope (STM) with a sharp needle probe to detect each atom at the surface. They will arrange atoms in a way that Otte compares to a sliding puzzle.

Storage device to remember information on each chlorine atom.(Photo: TU Delft).

"Each data bit consists of two positions on the surface of copper atoms, and each chlorine atom can slide back and forth between these two positions," he said.

"If the chlorine atom is in the upper position, that is, below it there is a hole, we specify that bit to be 1. In contrast, when the chlorine is below, above the hole will be 0".

Since chlorine atoms surround each other (except for locations near the hole), they will keep each other fixed. For this reason, the team believes that their method is more stable than using loose bonding atoms, more suitable for actual data storage applications.

The group demonstrated by Richard Feynman's famous "There are many rooms below" lecture on a 100-nanometer area.

However, although the future is very promising, it has not been replicated. The storage process requires performing at very low temperatures, minus 196 degrees Celsius, and the speed of writing and reading a single program is still slow, with time in minutes.

In an article published on the same topic in Nature Nanotechnology on July 18, researcher Steven Erwin of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington DC acknowledged these restrictions. However, Dr. Otte is still optimistic about this technology.

"Achieving this initial success, we certainly have come a long way," Otte said.

"It is important to realize the meaning of this achievement - a high-density function memory device at the atomic scale, which will at least stimulate our imagination to later milestones," he said. Erwin said.