Traditional DDR memory operates within a specific temperature window (usually around 100 degrees Celsius or lower), exceeding which results in potential data loss and thermal throttling. University of Michigan researchers We developed a new memory architecture that behaves virtually opposite to DDR memory, operating at temperatures of at least 500 degrees Fahrenheit (250 degrees Celsius) and capable of operating at temperatures in excess of 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit (600 degrees Celsius).
This unorthodox memory design exploits the properties of batteries to store data at abnormal temperatures. Data is stored by moving negatively charged oxygen atoms between two layers in the memory: semiconductor tantalum oxide and metallic tantalum. These oxygen atoms are transferred between the two (different) tantalum layers through the solid electrolyte, which acts like a barrier, preventing the oxygen atoms from bouncing between one layer and the other.
Oxygen atoms are said to be guided through three platinum electrodes, which control when each atom moves from one layer to another and vice versa, representing changes in the data. These movements behave like a battery, with three electrodes controlling whether oxygen atoms are released. drawn into tantalum oxide or push Output, similar to charging or discharging a battery.
The oxygen content of tantalum oxide is said to act as an insulator or conductor to represent a digital 0 or 1, allowing the material to switch between two different voltage states.
This is a very different solution to dealing with system memory than traditional solutions. Today’s storage solutions utilize mobile electronics that are very temperature sensitive. If the temperature rises too much, the electrons become uncontrollable due to physical limitations on the flow of electricity. Instead, the UM researchers’ peculiar storage solution relies on oxygen atoms, which are not subject to the same temperature constraints.
The researchers note that this oxygen atom-based memory solution operates at such a high minimum temperature that a heater may be needed to bring the memory up to operating temperature before starting to work, just like an internal combustion engine, which also needs to Specific temperature window to provide maximum power output. There is no claimed maximum temperature window, but researchers revealed that information can be stored above 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit for more than a day.
The researchers also note that due to its design, the solution is more energy efficient than alternative memory designs such as ferroelectric memory or polycrystalline platinum electrode nanogaps.