PLASTIC MEMORY

1. INTRODUCTION
Imagine a scenario where the memory stored in your digital camera or personal digital assistant is partially based one of the most flexible materials made by man- plastic.

The recent development in the memory was a new form of

permanent

computer

memory which uses plastic and may be much cheaper and faster than the existing silicon circuits which was invented by Researchers at Princeton University working with HewlettPackard. This memory is technically a hybrid which contains a plastic film, a flexible foil substrate and some silicon, that could store more data and cost less than traditional siliconbased chips for mobile devices such as handheld computers, cell phones and MP3 players.

A conducting plastic has been used to create a new memory technology with the potential to store a megabit of data in a millimeter square device - 10 times denser than current magnetic memories. The device should also be cheap and fast, but cannot be rewritten, so would only be suitable for permanent storage.

The device sandwiches a blob of a conducting polymer called PEDOT (POLYETHYLENE DIOXYTHIOPENE) and a silicon diode between two perpendicular wires. Substantial research effort has focused on polymer-based transistors, which could form cheap, flexible circuits, but polymer-based memory has received relatively little attention.

However, turning the polymer into an insulator involves a permanent chemical

change,

meaning the memory can only be written to once. Its creators say this makes it ideal for archiving images and other data directly from a digital camera, cellphone or PDA, like an electronic version of film negatives.

While microchip makers continue to wring more and more from silicon, the most dramatic improvements in the electronics industry could come from an entirely different material plastic. Labs around the world are working on integrated circuits, displays for handheld devices and even

A.S.I.E.T., KALADY Dept. of Electronics and Communication Engg.

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PLASTIC MEMORY solar cells that rely on electrically conducting polymers not siliconfor cheap and flexible electronic components. Now two of the worlds leading chip makers are racing to develop new stock for this plastic microelectronic arsenal: plastic memory. Advanced Micro Devices of

Sunnyvale, CA, is working with Coatue, a startup in Woburn, MA, to develop chips that store data in polymers rather than silicon. The technology, according to Coatue CEO Andrew Perlman, could lead to a cheaper and denser alternative to flash memory chipsthe type of memory used in digital cameras and MP3 players. Meanwhile, Intel is collaborating with Thin Film Technologies in Linkping, Sweden, on a similar high capacity plastic memory.

A.S.I.E.T., KALADY Dept. of Electronics and Communication Engg.

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