NSF-funded researchers are applying ultra-thin ferroelectric materials found on ATM and other smart cards to computers, with hopes that one day this could result in low-power/high-speed memorydevices and computers that turn on faster.
The researchers, from Cornell University, Penn State University and Northwestern University, reported their findings in the journal Science on April 17 in an article titled “A Ferroelectric Oxide Made Directly on Silicon.”
The researchers have put strontium titanate on silicon in such a way that the material has been “squeezed into a ferroelectric state,” according to the NSF. More research needs to be done to develop faster booting computers, but the researchers are encouraged by initial results.
