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New Work On Atomic Memory

Scientists have developed a type of memory which stores information using atoms of silicon in place of traditional numbers.

The research, reported in NanoTechnology magazine, is the first step towards a practical storage device in which atoms represent data.

Developed by Franz Himpsel of the University of Wisconsin, the technique could provide a storage density a million times greater than a CD-Rom.

The new memory was made on a silicon surface by lifting out single silicon atoms with the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope. The gaps left behind represent the bits of data storage.

While conventional data storage uses millions of atoms per bit it would be theoretically possible to use single atoms as storage bits.

However, Himpsel admitted that it may take decades to make a practical version of atomic memory as there are problems with using individual atoms at room temperature, and recording and playback would be far too slow.