Scientists at the North Carolina State University have recently developed a new kind of memory material that is apparently able to store the data equivalent of more than 20 high-definition DVDs, or roughly 250 million pages of text. The innovation, which far exceeds existing memory capacities, was obtained from a magnesium oxide ceramic with nickel atoms. In charge of the research team at NC State has been the John C.C. Fan Family Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Dr. Jagdish Narayan, ScienceDaily reports.

The expert, who is also the director of the National Science Foundation Center for Advanced Materials and Smart Structures, says that a process known as selective doping is what enabled them to produce the new, fingernail-sized memory chip. According to Narayan, the find could be applied not only to the field of information technology, but also to vehicle production, and to eliminating the extremely large amount of heat produced by today's semiconductors. If applied to cars, the find could significantly reduce emissions from fossil fuel-powered vehicles.

The new material is produced at the nanoscale, the team reports. It is obtained by doping magnesium oxide with nickel, which results in a structure featuring nickel-atom clusters no larger than ten nanometers in size. “Instead of making a chip that stores 20 gigabytes, you have one that can handle one terabyte, or 50 times more data,” the Distinguished Professor says. He adds that the new, metallic property-endowed ceramics could be used to construct engine blocks able to withstand twice the temperature in modern engines. This can result in a fuel efficiency of more than 80 miles per gallon.

For the investigation, which was supported by a grant from the US National Science Foundation (NSF), the expert teamed up with NC State research associate Dr. Sudhakar Nori, and NC State Adjunct Professor of Materials Science and Engineering J.T. Prater. The researchers say that the thermal conductivity of the new ceramic material could be significantly improved from the draft version they have just obtained. As a result, the future could see the nickel-doped magnesium oxide being used for a new generation of solar cells that would produce more electricity than existing systems.