A team of scientists has invented a technique to measure changes in ultra thin materials which could eventually help in development of faster and higher capacity and importantly more stable electronic storage devices.

The device uses a technique called Raman Spectroscopy and the scientists were able to measure the exact condition under which ‘ferroelectric’ materials will change their state.

A professor of physics and material sciences at Penn State University in University Park, Penn., about 220 kilometers east of Pittsburgh Xiao xing Xi, said “There are many techniques for measurement at a larger scale”. But when it comes to measuring changes in electromagnetic properties of materials at the so-called “nanoscale,” those techniques fall short for precisely and accurately detecting those changes

The scientists found ways in which a layer of barium titanate could store a switch able electric field at a range of temperatures, configurations and thicknesses, including one as thin as four-tenths of a nanometer or 400 millionths of a centimeter.

The advantage of using ferroelectric materials is that it can make nonvolatile memory. So once data is written to memory, it does not need power to continue to store that data. The further development of such memory could lead to the creation of computers that instantly turn on and off without having to wait for software to load or save data.

A research team comprising of 22 scientists from various countries is working on this project.

Via: CBC40837