New technology tightens cyber security

ScienceDaily (Jan. 6, 2012) — Signcryption is a technology that protects confidentiality and authenticity, seamlessly and simultaneously.

For example, when you log in to your online bank account, signcryption prevents your username and password from being seen by unauthorized individuals. At the same time, it confirms your identity for the bank.

UNC Charlotte professor Yuliang Zheng invented the revolutionary new technology and he continues his research in the College of Computing and Informatics. After nearly a three-year process, his research efforts have been formally recognized as an international standard by the International Organization of Standardization (ISO).

News of the ISO adoption comes amidst daily reports of cyber attack and cyber crime around the world. Zheng says the application will also enhance the security and privacy of cloud computing.

"The adoption of signryption as an international standard is significant in several ways," he said. "It will now be the standard worldwide for protecting confidentiality and authenticity during transmissions of digital information."

"This will also allow smaller devices, such as smartphones and PDAs, 3G and 4G mobile communications, as well as emerging technologies, such as radio frequency identifiers (RFID) and wireless sensor networks, to perform high-level security functions," Zheng said. "And, by performing these two functions simultaneously, we can save resources, be it an individual's time or be it energy, as it will take less time to perform the task."

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The Various Facets of 3G Technology

There's no denying the fact that 3G has ushered in a new area in mobile phone technology. Customers have promptly jumped on to the 3G bandwagon and are investing in 3G mobile handsets. Cheap cell phones and cheap contract phones are incorporating this technology that has enabled even the commoner to derive its benefits.

For those still uninitiated, following are some of the facets of 3G technology.

Functionality

People are able to execute innumerable functions, like sending data and information and acquiring them via wireless access, by using 3G technology. You can get data irrespective of your location and time. In fact, 3G provides the highest possible speed as against any earlier technology. You can access internet faster and enjoy better entertainment. You can also exploit the benefits of video calling due to the faster speed and make video calls to friends and family all across the world via video calling facility. The clarity and quality of these video calls that can be enjoyed even on cheap contract phones, is a boon for the common man.

Usage

You can use your mobile phone handset as a modem for your computer and use it to send and receive emails and other necessary documents. Downloading of games and songs are must faster with a 3G network than any older technology. The 3G technology allows very fast downloads. Hence, you require only a few minutes for downloading movie clips or albums.

Access to information

Accessing information on the internet is one of the most important features of the 3G technology. You can watch the latest news headlines, acquire data on weather, sports and economic issues. You can also watch live scores of an ongoing football match or your favorite sport. Viewing running or streaming videos on a 3G mobile phone is no problem at all because of the enhanced bandwidth and better connectivity.

Higher Speed

Equipped with 3G technology, you can enjoy a higher data transmission speed, up to 2 Mbps, even on cheap cell phones. But for this, you must have the handset in a stationary position. Besides giving a high degree of network connectivity, a 3G mobile phone also resists interrupted data transmissions. The technology comprises of enhanced bit rate and allows service providers to offer high-speed internet connectivity to their customers even on a cheap contract phone handset. The customer can also avail high-speed internet facilities, high call volumes and a host of multimedia applications. All these services can be offered to the customer based on the quantity of data being transmitted and not the time spent for the service. In the long run it'll be cheaper for the customers.

Pricing

The advent of cheap mobile phones, comprising 3G facilities, has substantially brought down the cost of the technology. What was once considered to be the domain of only the rich is today available at a more reasonable price. The cost of availing 3G services is further set to plummet with even major mobile phone manufacturers introducing 3G capable cheap cell phone handsets.

Select from a wide range of 3G smartphones, attractive smartphones deals, cheap handsets & economical call plans.

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The Latest in Smartphone Technology

The smartphone field moves at a lightning pace, and keeping up isn't always easy. Technology that was eye-popping a year ago, such as WVGA screens and eight-megapixel cameras, becomes outdated quickly. Here we will take a look at what the latest technology trends have been for smartphones in terms of both hardware and software.

Processors and screens have easily been the most rapidly advancing aspects of smartphone technology. Dual-core processors began to get included in devices at the beginning of 2011, and they are now standard in any top-tier smartphone. What's even more interesting is that quad-core processors are here, and are being included in the new Transformer Prime tablet. While the Prime is a tablet, it's only a matter of time before smartphones begin shipping with these quad-core chips. Meanwhile, in the screen department, HD screens have started to hit the latest premiere smartphones. The HTC Rezound is one such device that makes use of an HD screen to make using the device an absolute pleasure.

Another aspect of smartphone technology is literally just days old, and that's the latest version of Android. Nicknamed Ice Cream Sandwich, Android 4.0 was just released with the Galaxy Nexus smartphone on Verizon. The operating system brings several new features to advance the smartphone industry. One feature in particular is the incorporation of software buttons into the interface. While current Android smartphones include physical or touch-sensitive buttons to navigate through the interface, Ice Cream Sandwich does away with this. Expect smartphones in the next few months to be released that feature no buttons outside of the power button and volume rocker.

One final noteworthy advancement in smartphone technology in the last few months is speech recognition technology. With the launch of the iPhone 4S, Apple introduced the world to Siri. While Google already had incorporated its own voice command software into Android phones for over a year and a half, Apple made the idea mainstream and revolutionary. Now, Google is rumored to be working on a competitor to Siri that will also allow the user to interact with the phone through natural speech. Speech recognition definitely seems to be the next big thing in smartphone technology.

Between all of these recent leaps in smartphone technology, 2012 is already shaping up to be a very fascinating year. With such strong sales in the industry, manufacturers are all striving to gain and maintain market share. This is leading to some incredible devices and loads of innovations. Thanks to this perfect storm of competitive forces, consumers are benefiting greatly from what seems to be a limitless number of incredible devices.

Lexi Davis is a writer who enjoys writing on a number of different verticals. For more on new technology, Two Ends of the Pen offers readers information on new technology and self publishing.

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The Changing World of Technology - From Party Lines to Siri

On October 14th, my new iPhone was delivered. Moving up from the iPhone 3G - getting this phone was a huge treat. In fact, with the 3G, I could never totally understand all the iPhone hype. But this 4S is fantastic. Even though I also own an iPad - I use the phone to surf the web and do lots of other things.

But the feature I love the most is Siri. I must admit, we had our problems at first because we didn't always seem to understand each other but now we are good friends. I can be in the middle of something and quickly have her write a reminder for me. She sends emails and text messages for me and even knows my name. How things have changed during my lifetime.

When I was a little girl, we lived in Washington, DC and had no air-conditioning (I am not even sure it was invented back in the 40s). For those of you who have spent a summer in DC, you will understand when I say that area can be worse than miserable at that time of year.

As a result, almost every summer, my mother packed up the kids and would go up to Cazenova, NY to visit my grandparents. My father would take leave and come up for several weeks. The year I was born, they had built a cottage on their property, so we had separate living quarters, which was an ideal situation.

One of my strongest memories of those days was my grandparents picking up their phone and asking the operator to dial a number for them. But they only reached the operator if no one else was using their shared line. And there was no such things as an actual dial feature on any of their phones.

At our house, we had a black rotary phone with a dial that clicked every time the wheel was turned. If I remember correctly, our phone number was something like MA-1212. Area codes were a long way off in the future. My parents had been given a choice of a party or private line - they elected the more expensive route and picked the private one. To call long distance, we had to dial "O" to get an operator to call the number for us.

Calling long distance was expensive - especially for those days. Twenty-five cents a minute wasn't unheard of. So we kept in touch by writing letters - calling long distance was used for such things as emergencies or very special occasions. To put it into context, the mailman also walked from house to house with a big leather pouch on his back - people either had a mail box by their front door or there was a mail slot built in the door.

My parents, who have been deceased for a number of years, would be blown away if they could see the world as it is today. My father, who died in 1987 didn't even know what a PC was. My mother lived until 1998 but during her last years she was so senile she didn't have much of an idea as to what was going on around her.

Now look at us. Little did I dream, even 5 years ago that my phone would call me Ellen. And even funnier, I find I thank her when she helps me out. How crazy is that?

As a senior citizen that has spent over two years studying this crazy online world that we are living it, I have found that it can be fun at times and frustrating beyond belief at others. The young who have grown up in the computer era have no idea of how we can struggle with just trying to understand them. My goal is to help those who are either older or non techies survive because we have to adapt. If you are interested in learning more, please visit my website at http://etsocialmedia.com/.

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Future Benefits Of 4G Technology For Smartphones Users

As smartphones increase in power and capability, user demand rises also. With the world full of consumers demanding more and more out of their hand held devices, there are certain bottlenecks and limitations that are currently not advancing as everyone would wish. So prepare for 4G connection speeds.

At the moment there are limitations in the capacity of data allowances and battery life. For day to day activities the battery life is an aspect of mobile technology that has fallen behind and currently limits the usage and ability to travel without a charger. Also, all current network providers are limiting the capacity of their current 3G systems. The days of dial-up connections and slowly loading pages are over and consumers expectations are high.

As it stands there's not much availability for 4G at the moment but it's a technology that in a few years every phone will be compatible with and each network provider will offer a much improved service over the current 3G connection speeds. Currently, there are around 8-10 networks providing LTE services, across Europe, North America.

LTE is short for Long Term Evolution and is considered the successor to 3G. But currently is still in the pre-3G stage, but will soon be upgraded to LTE Advanced to offer the full 4G experience. Although LTE is currently available in USA, Britain is hoped to receive this type of service in 2012, this is when the LTE radio spectrum is up for auction. The rival to LTE is WiMAX, which has been very successful in being implemented in emerging markets where there is a lack of mobile infrastructure.

Benefits Of 4G For Mobile Users:

The major benefit and advantage 4G has over the current 3G is speed. With expectations of over 10 times faster network speeds. Allowing users to consume data and information at a much faster rate. Increasing the possibility of the activities currently available with smartphones. Such as using the network speeds much like you would at home or at work, with an expected 5-12mbps download speed. Therefore increasing flexibility and freedom to get access online whenever required because 4G operates in the 700MHz spectrum. This means the signal can penetrate buildings much more easily. Therefore, eliminating the current problem of lost signals when in certain buildings and locations.

Plus, latency on the 4G network is expected to be greatly reduced. By utilising faster throughput with lower latency each and every mobile device can benefit from improved battery performance. Helping carry out daily activities much less of a worry, whether venturing on long trips and not worrying about battery life to making cheap calls to USA or anywhere else in the world, and many other activities that were once a worry will hopefully be resolved with increased battery life when carrying out different tasks.

But beware, all phones will be limited to the networks their available to. As of yet there is little use for fully fledged 4G phones because of such little support form the networks. Therefore it may not be until the next smartphone next upgrade that it should be in place and operational.

Harvey McEwan writes to offer information and advice on a variety of areas, from technology to holiday destinations. Read through Harvey's other articles here to find out more.

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European consortium contributes to global standards for 4G technology

ScienceDaily (Nov. 16, 2011) — A European consortium has developed global standards for the next generation of mobile communication devices. Their breakthrough will help contribute to new products and business worldwide, while making smartphones even smarter.

What happens when European communications companies meet top research institutes? A consortium, which includes a number of large European and global companies, was formed as a EUREKA framework research programme called WINNER+ and has contributed to standards which are already being used around the world, enabling increases in the capabilities of mobile communication. These increases will include new ecosystems for mobile systems and devices, generating wide ranges of new products, employment and company revenues around the world.

WINNER+ is the third phase of a series of development started in 2004 funded through the European framework programme. EUREKA's Euroepan mobile communication cluster CELTIC was the ideal platform to launch the technology on the market after the initial research was completed. WINNER+ was born in April 2008, after the World Radio Communication conference identified additional radio frequency spectrum which could be used for mobile applications.

"The aims of the project were to develop systems, concepts and simulations to test and validate ideas for broadband mobile communications. These ideas could then be exploited for global standards," said Dr. Werner Mohr, Nokia Siemens Networks.

The results of the previous research stages, which include radio network capabilities that are already ahead of state-of-the-art, were used as the starting point. Could WINNER+ push those boundaries even further forwards? 3G standards, used by mobile phones already for ten years allow consumers to connect to Internet from wherever they want, helping them access services such as mobile TV or video-conferencing from their handsets. What the project developed are new generation 4G standards which will make Internet on smartphones even faster and wireless Internet connections more reliable.

Working together

Consensus was very hard to find in establishing standards for 3G after several competing proposals were developed. Major companies had put in a great deal of time, effort and money into research and development and were unwilling to give it up. This time was different. By building on the previous projects, WINNER+ brought together most of the major telecommunications companies at a very early stage.

As each company was starting from the same point, each had significantly less invested in 4G and so could be more flexible as development progressed. The basic concepts of the new system were a joint development. WINNER+ built directly onto these developments and exploited them towards global standards. Additionally, since the end goal was the same for everyone -- agreed standards -- there was little incentive to try and gain an advantage over others. The result was much smoother development.

As Dr Werner Mohr of Nokia Siemens Networks explains, "This meant that the capabilities and concepts were developed together and so there was much more support for the eventual solutions. This was a major achievement." With many of the project partners also playing an active role in the industry trade bodies and standards committees, the consortium was well placed to facilitate workable agreements. EUREKA played a crucial role in this cooperation. Many of the companies are competitors meaning that there are some very real constraints to working together, both from the perspective of sharing crucial research and development data and from the possibility of alleged anti-trust behaviour.

The EUREKA touch

The 29 partners in the consortium come from a wide range of European countries and many compete against each other in the same national markets. By enabling a legal relationship between the different parties, using the same publicly available legal conditions for everyone, the framework provided by EUREKA smoothed out potential bumps and also enabled funding for some of the research.

"The framework EUREKA provided was very important. It enabled competitors to work together without any great problems and was also the basis for much of the national research funding that was granted," added Dr. Mohr.

Since research funding is awarded on a national level, some parties were able to receive financial assistance while others were not. EUREKA provided the label enabling the applications for national funding. Around half of the companies found funding, but the strategic carrot of being involved in contributing to the setting of future global standards ensured that all the parties allocated funds for research when required. The experience of other platforms in recent years suggests that there will be many potential benefits to the standards being influenced by WINNER+.

An Unlimited potential

The development of new mobile and wireless systems and devices and the potentially unlimited number of applications for these devices has the power to enable innovation, create companies, employment and profits on a global scale. Dr Mohr suggests that these are secondary effects, which are impossible to estimate in advance, but have the potential to enhance the lives of mobile users with creative new products, services and possibilities.

He describes a time lag of several years between research and system development of new radio systems before it becomes clear just how important the new capabilities will be, but he has "very high hopes." In contrast to many of the entrepreneurs and small companies that may emerge, the project partners included telecommunications network operators with national, international or global businesses. For these companies, the ability to maintain revenues and jobs as new technology develops is just as important.

There are hopes that the next round of innovations from WINNER+ will include new peer to peer communications between devices, new ways to use and share radio frequency spectrum and advances in radio resource management. In other words, much greater capabilities in services that we already take for granted. With a total research budget between the partners of over €12 million, there is clearly a lot at stake in the mobile communications industry. WINNER+ is a great example of European companies developing industry leading technologies and standards.

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Tactile technology for video games guaranteed to send shivers down your spine

ScienceDaily (Aug. 10, 2011) — A new tactile technology developed at Disney Research, Pittsburgh (DRP), called Surround Haptics, makes it possible for video game players and film viewers to feel a wide variety of sensations, from the smoothness of a finger being drawn against skin to the jolt of a collision.

The technology is based on rigorous psychophysical experiments and new models of tactile perception. Disney will demonstrate Surround Haptics Aug. 7-11 at the Emerging Technology Exhibition at SIGGRAPH 2011, the International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques in Vancouver.

In the demonstration developed in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University and others, the technology will enhance a high-intensity driving simulator game in collaboration with Disney's Black Rock Studio. With players seated in a chair outfitted with inexpensive vibrating actuators, Surround Haptics will enable them to feel road imperfections and objects falling on the car, sense skidding, braking and acceleration, and experience ripples of sensation when cars collide or jump and land.

"Although we have only implemented Surround Haptics with a gaming chair to date, the technology can be easily embedded into clothing, gloves, sports equipment and mobile computing devices," said Ivan Poupyrev, senior research scientist at DRP, who invented and developed Surround Haptics with Ali Israr, also of DRP. "This technology has the capability of enhancing the perception of flying or falling, of shrinking or growing, of feeling bugs creeping on your skin. The possibilities are endless."

The DRP researchers have accomplished this feat by designing an algorithm for controlling an array of vibrating actuators in such a way as to create "virtual actuators" anywhere within the grid of actuators. A virtual actuator, Poupyrev said, can be created between any two physical actuators; the user has the illusion of feeling only the virtual actuator.

As a result, users don't feel the general buzzing or pulsing typical of most haptic devices today, but can feel discrete, continuous motions such as a finger tracing a pattern on skin.

The phenomenon of phantom sensations created by actuators has been known for more than 50 years, but its use in tactile displays has been limited because of an incomplete understanding of control mechanisms. DRP researchers were able to develop their control algorithm by systematically measuring users' ability to feel physical actuators vs. virtual actuators under a variety of stimulation levels. They then developed control models that were validated by further psychophysical experiments.

In addition to enhancing user experiences with interactive games, movies and music, Surround Haptics' underlying technology promises to provide new tactile means of communication for the blind, emergency workers, vehicle operators, athletes and others.

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Colloidal quantum dots: Performance boost next-generation solar cell technology

ScienceDaily (Sep. 19, 2011) — Researchers from the University of Toronto (U of T), the King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) and Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) have created the most efficient solar cell ever made based on colloidal quantum dots (CQD).

The discovery is reported in the latest issue of Nature Materials.

Quantum dots are nanoscale semiconductors that capture light and convert it into an energy source. Because of their small scale, the dots can be sprayed on to flexible surfaces, including plastics. This enables the production of solar cells that are less expensive to produce and more durable than the more widely-known silicon-based version. In the work highlighted by the Nature Materials paper, the researchers demonstrate how the wrappers that encapsulate the quantum dots can be shrunk to a mere layer of atoms.

"We figured out how to shrink the passivating materials to the smallest imaginable size," states Professor Ted Sargent, corresponding author on the work and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Nanotechnology at U of T.

A crucial challenge for the field has been striking a balance between convenience and performance. The ideal design is one that tightly packs the quantum dots together. The greater the distance between quantum dots, the lower the efficiency.

However the quantum dots are usually capped with organic molecules that add a nanometer or two. When working on a nanoscale, that is bulky. Yet the organic molecules have been an important ingredient in creating a colloid, which is a substance that is dispersed in another substance. This allows the quantum dots to be painted on to other surfaces.

To solve the problem, the researchers have turned to inorganic ligands, which bind the quantum dots together while using less space. The result is the same colloid characteristics but without the bulky organic molecules.

"We wrapped a single layer of atoms around each particle. As a result, they packed the quantum dots into a very dense solid," explains Dr. Jiang Tang, the first author of the paper who conducted the research while a post-doctoral fellow in The Edward S. Rogers Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at U of T.

The team showed the highest electrical currents, and the highest overall power conversion efficiency, ever seen in CQD solar cells. The performance results were certified by an external laboratory, Newport, that is accredited by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

"The team proved that we were able to remove charge traps -- locations where electrons get stuck -- while still packing the quantum dots closely together," says Professor John Asbury of Penn State, a co-author of the work.

The combination of close packing and charge trap elimination enabled electrons to move rapidly and smoothly through the solar cells, thus providing record efficiency.

"This finding proves the power of inorganic ligands in building practical devices," states Professor Dmitri Talapin of The University of Chicago, who is a research leader in the field. "This new surface chemistry provides the path toward both efficient and stable quantum dot solar cells. It should also impact other electronic and optoelectronic devices that utilize colloidal nanocrystals. Advantages of the all-inorganic approach include vastly improved electronic transport and a path to long-term stability."

"At KAUST we were able to visualize, with incredible resolution on the sub-nanometer length scale, the structure and composition of this remarkable new class of materials," states Professor Aram Amassian of KAUST, a co-author on the work.

"We proved that the inorganic passivants were tightly correlated with the location of the quantum dots; and that it was this new approach to chemical passivation, rather than nanocrystal ordering, that led to this record-breaking colloidal quantum dot solar cell performance," he adds.

As a result of the potential of this research discovery, a technology licensing agreement has been signed by U of T and KAUST, brokered by MaRS Innovations (MI), which will will enable the global commercialization of this new technology.

"The world -- and the marketplace -- need solar innovations that break the existing compromise between performance and cost. Through U of T's, MI's, and KAUST's partnership, we are poised to translate exciting research into tangible innovations that can be commercialized," said Sargent.

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by University of Toronto, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal Reference:

Jiang Tang, Kyle W. Kemp, Sjoerd Hoogland, Kwang S. Jeong, Huan Liu, Larissa Levina, Melissa Furukawa, Xihua Wang, Ratan Debnath, Dongkyu Cha, Kang Wei Chou, Armin Fischer, Aram Amassian, John B. Asbury, Edward H. Sargent. Colloidal-quantum-dot photovoltaics using atomic-ligand passivation. Nature Materials, 2011; DOI: 10.1038/nmat3118

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Recent trends show recession's effect on US advanced technology exports

ScienceDaily (Sep. 6, 2011) — U.S. exports of advanced technology products (ATP) fared better than other non-advanced technology exports during the recent U.S. recession, says a new report from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

NSF's National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics reports that ATP exports fell from $270 billion in 2008 to $245 billion in 2009. But this 9 percent drop was less than half the decline of non ATP exports.

ATP exports embody new or leading edge breakthroughs in science and technology including drugs developed from gene therapy, nuclear resonance imaging, micro integrated circuits, robotics, advanced materials, and civilian and military satellites.

The finding results from U.S. Census Bureau data taken from ATP trade in the 10 ATP technology areas defined by the agency with a focus on four technology areas: aerospace, electronics, information and communications technology and life science. Together these four areas account for 85 percent of U.S. ATP exports in 2010.

NSF's report, titled "U.S. Exports of Advanced Technology Products Declined Less Than Other U.S. Exports in 2009," also says U.S. ATP exports recovered in 2010 but lagged behind the growth of non-ATP exports. In 2010, U.S. ATP exports improved by 11 percent as compared to 2009, but other types of U.S. exports expanded at 23 percent, twice the rate of ATP exports.

The InfoBrief also describes U.S. ATP trade with selected major economies and regions. It says the 2009 decline of US ATP exports was steeper for Asia as compared to those destined for the European Union and the North American Free Trade Agreement zone.

Exports to Asia fell from $94 billion in 2008 to $79 billion in 2009; at 15 percent, it was the largest decline among the three regions. According to NSF's report, the decline was driven by a drop in electronics exports to Asia, the most important export market for U.S. advanced technology products, and a drop in information and communications technology exports.

During the period of 2008-2009, U.S. ATP exports to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan declined steeply (between 19 and 29 percent), but exports to China saw little change. In 2010, however, US exports to Asia grew faster than US exports to the other two regions.

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New 'FeTRAM' is promising computer memory technology

ScienceDaily (Sep. 27, 2011) — Researchers are developing a new type of computer memory that could be faster than the existing commercial memory and use far less power than flash memory devices.

The technology combines silicon nanowires with a "ferroelectric" polymer, a material that switches polarity when electric fields are applied, making possible a new type of ferroelectric transistor.

"It's in a very nascent stage," said doctoral student Saptarshi Das, who is working with Joerg Appenzeller, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and scientific director of nanoelectronics at Purdue's Birck Nanotechnology Center.

The ferroelectric transistor's changing polarity is read as 0 or 1, an operation needed for digital circuits to store information in binary code consisting of sequences of ones and zeroes. The new technology is called FeTRAM, for ferroelectric transistor random access memory.

"We've developed the theory and done the experiment and also showed how it works in a circuit," he said. Findings are detailed in a research paper that appeared this month in Nano Letters, published by the American Chemical Society.

The FeTRAM technology has nonvolatile storage, meaning it stays in memory after the computer is turned off. The devices have the potential to use 99 percent less energy than flash memory, a non-volatile computer storage chip and the predominant form of memory in the commercial market.

"However, our present device consumes more power because it is still not properly scaled," Das said. "For future generations of FeTRAM technologies one of the main objectives will be to reduce the power dissipation. They might also be much faster than another form of computer memory called SRAM."

The FeTRAM technology fulfills the three basic functions of computer memory: to write information, read the information and hold it for a long period of time.

"You want to hold memory as long as possible, 10 to 20 years, and you should be able to read and write as many times as possible," Das said. "It should also be low power to keep your laptop from getting too hot. And it needs to scale, meaning you can pack many devices into a very small area. The use of silicon nanowires along with this ferroelectric polymer has been motivated by these requirements."

The new technology also is compatible with industry manufacturing processes for complementary metal oxide semiconductors, or CMOS, used to produce computer chips. It has the potential to replace conventional memory systems.

A patent application has been filed for the concept.

The FeTRAMs are similar to state-of-the-art ferroelectric random access memories, FeRAMs, which are in commercial use but represent a relatively small part of the overall semiconductor market. Both use ferroelectric material to store information in a nonvolatile fashion, but unlike FeRAMS, the new technology allows for nondestructive readout, meaning information can be read without losing it.

This nondestructive readout is possible by storing information using a ferroelectric transistor instead of a capacitor, which is used in conventional FeRAMs.

This work was supported by the Nanotechnology Research Initiative (NRI) through Purdue's Network for Computational Nanotechnology (NCN), which is supported by National Science Foundation.

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Purdue University. The original article was written by Emil Venere.

Journal Reference:

Saptarshi Das, Joerg Appenzeller. FETRAM. An Organic Ferroelectric Material Based Novel Random Access Memory Cell. Nano Letters, 2011; 11 (9): 4003 DOI: 10.1021/nl2023993

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