14 DAY TRIAL // The team of experts at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), has managed to develop the most dense computer memory circuit ever fabricated. This device is capable of storing around 2,000 words in a unit the size of a white blood cell. The Californian scientists unveil that the 160-kilobit memory cell has a bit density of 100 gigabits per square centimeter, which is undoubtedly a new record.
Caltech representatives informed that the memory cell can store files the size of the United States' Declaration of Independence with some room still left over. However, the chances of this newly developed memory unit being used in a laptop any time soon are pretty slim, according to Caltech chemistry professor James Heath, leader of the research program. Heath also added: "It's the sort of device that Intel would contemplate making in the year 2020. But at the moment, it furthers our goal of learning how to manufacture functional electronic circuitry at molecular dimensions. Whether it's possible to get this new memory circuit into a laptop, I don't know. But we have time."
Scientists explain that the estimated 2020 availability date depends greatly on the validity of Moore's law which states that the complexity of an integrated circuit typically doubles every year. By today's standards and in conjunction with Moor's law, manufacturers can see no clear way of extending the miniaturization of electronic components beyond the year 2013. In this sense, Caltech-UCLA team prepared a detailed feature article, which is set to appear in the Nature journal today.
Such technologies seem to be beyond what nano-technology claims to offer in the near future. Thus, scientists are forced to franticly research new methods of miniaturization that could integrate with efficient designs.