www.nanopicoftheday.org
March 19, 2004
Ultradense Memory
Source:
Franz J. Himpsel
References:
- R. Bennewitz et
al., "Atomic scale memory at a silicon surface" Nanotechnology 13, 499
(2002).
Description:
A two-dimensional version of Feynman's atomic memory, which he suggested in his
1959 talk "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom," is formed on the surface of
silicon by a small amount of gold (on the right). It looks similar to the CD-ROM
on the left, but the scale is in nanometers instead of micrometers. That means
the storage density is a million times higher. Extra silicon atoms
(white) sit on top of self-assembled tracks that are formed by the gold. Each
track is exactly five atoms wide. It is suggestive to assign an extra silicon
atom to a 1 and a vacancy to a 0. The minimum empty area required around each
bit is 5x4=20 atoms, 4 atoms along the track and 5 atoms from one track to the
next. Feynman's 1959 suggestion of spacing the bits 5 atoms apart was right on
the mark.
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