Multi-state data storage leaving binary behind
Stepping 'beyond binary' to store data in more than just 0s and 1s

Date:
October 12, 2020
Source:
ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronics
Technologies
Summary:
Electronic data is being produced at a breath-taking rate. Around
ten zettabytes (ten trillion gigabytes) of data is stored in global
server farms, and that's doubling every two years. With computing
already consuming 8% of global electricity, low-energy data-storage
is a key priority. Next-generation 'multi-state' memory offers a
highly energy efficient, low-cost, fast-access solution: stepping
'beyond binary' to store more data than just zeros and ones.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Electronic data is being produced at a breath-taking rate.


==========================================================================
The total amount of data stored in data centres around the globe is
of the order of ten zettabytes (a zettabyte is a trillion gigabytes),
and we estimate that amount doubles every couple of years.

With 8% of global electricity already being consumed in information and communication technology (ICT), low-energy data-storage is a key priority.

To date there is no clear winner in the race for next-generation memory
that is non-volatile, has great endurance, highly energy efficient,
low cost, high density, and allows fast access operation.

The joint international team comprehensively reviews 'multi-state memory'
data storage, which steps 'beyond binary' to store more data than just
0s and 1s.

MULTI-STATE MEMORY: MORE THAN JUST ZEROES AND ONES Multi-state memory
is an extremely promising technology for future data storage, with the
ability to store data in more than a single bit (ie, 0 or 1) allowing
much higher storage density (amount of data stored per unit area.



==========================================================================
This circumvents the plateauing of benefits historically offered by
'Moore's Law', where component size halved abut every two years. In
recent years, the long-predicted plateauing of Moore's Law has been
observed, with charge leakage and spiralling research and fabrication
costs putting the nail in the Moore's Law coffin.

Non-volatile, multi-state memory (NMSM) offers energy efficiency, high, nonvolatility, fast access, and low cost.

Storage density is dramatically enhanced without scaling down the
dimensions of the memory cell, making memory devices more efficient and
less expensive.

NEUROMORPHIC COMPUTER MIMICKING THE HUMAN BRAIN Multi-state memory
also enables the proposed future technology neuromorphic computing,
which would mirror the structure of the human brain. This radically-
different, brain-inspired computing regime could potentially provide
the economic impetus for adoption of a novel technology such as NMSM.

NMSMs allow analog calculation, which could be vital to intelligent, neuromorphic networks, as well as potentially helping us finally unravel
the working mechanism of the human brain itself.

THE STUDY The paper reviews device architectures, working mechanisms,
material innovation, challenges, and recent progress for leading NMSM candidates, including:
* Flash memory * magnetic random-access memory (MRAM) * resistive
random-access memory (RRAM) * ferroelectric random-access memory
(FeRAM) * phase-change memory (PCM)

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by ARC_Centre_of_Excellence_in_Future_Low-Energy_Electronics
Technologies. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Qiang Cao, Weiming Lu", X. Renshaw Wang, Xinwei Guan, Lan Wang,
Shishen
Yan, Tom Wu, Xiaolin Wang. Nonvolatile Multistates Memories for
High- Density Data Storage. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces,
2020; 12 (38): 42449 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c10184 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201012115937.htm

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