[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #176: Memristor

[Bobbi Galvin]

////

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Oj3zub8y44&feature=player_embedded>

*OPLIN 4Cast #176: Memristor
*May 5, 2010


  /4casting technologies that could have an impact on public libraries./

Researchers at HP have solved the 37-year mystery of the memory 
resistor, the missing 4th circuit element (beyond the inductor, resistor 
and capacitor).

Known as memristor <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memristor>, Wikipedia 
gives some good examples of future use.  They could begin to take the 
place of transistors in computers, saving space.  "They can also be 
fashioned into non-volatile solid-state memory, which would allow 
greater data density than hard drives with access times potentially 
similar to DRAM, replacing both components.

"HP prototyped a crossbar latch memory using the devices that can fit 
100 gigabits in a square centimeter. HP has reported that its version of 
the memristor is about one-tenth the speed of DRAM.

"Some patents related to memristors appear to include applications in 
programmable logic, signal processing, neural networks, and control 
systems."

    * HP's Memristor tech - better than flash?
      <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/04/08/hp_memristor/>
    * Scientists Create First Memristor: Missing Fourth Electronic
      Circuit Element
      <http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2008/04/scientists-prov/>
    * The Mysterious Memristor
      <http://spectrum.ieee.org/semiconductors/design/the-mysterious-memristor>
    * Memristors combine memory, logics set in one device
      <http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/04/complete-logic-set-performed-using-memristors.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss>

*/Cool fact:/*
The most advanced transistor technology today is based on minimum 
feature sizes of 30 to 40 nanometers --- by contrast a biological virus 
is typically about 100 nanometers --- and Dr. Williams said that H.P. 
now has working 3-nanometer memristors that can switch on and off in 
about a nanosecond, or a billionth of a second. He said the company 
could have a competitor to flash memory in three years that would have a 
capacity of 20 gigabytes a square centimeter. [full NYT article 
<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/08/science/08chips.html>]

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-- 
Bobbi Galvin
OPLIN Customer Relations & Support
P: 1-888-966-7546
www.oplin.org

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