Semiconductor memory is a digital electronic semiconductor device used for digital data storage, such as computer memory, where data is stored within metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) memory cells on a silicon integrated circuit memory chip. Polymer memory insinuates the new memory innovation that utilizes conductive polymer rather than silicon based construction to store the data. Polymers are highly adaptable, organic material comprising of long chains of single molecules. Polymers are essential electronic material that can be processed as liquids. With thin film memory technology, polymers are used in various industrial standard processes.
A polymer known as PEDOT (polyethylenedioxythiophene) is an unusual plastic since it conducts electricity at low voltage, which makes this polymer suitable for anti-static coating in various industrial processes. Later, it was found that at high pulse of current changes it into non-conducting state (acts as an insulator).The PEDOT based memory was utilized to store the computerized data as zeros and ones. By stacking layers of memory, a cubic centimeter gadget could hold as much as a gigabyte and be sufficiently modest to rival CDs and DVD.
How does Polymer memory work :
The fundamental principle behind the Polymer based memory is a dipole moment possessed by the polymer chains because of which polymer shows differences in electrical conductivity and when an electric field is applied polymer local dipole is set up. Dipole Moment is set up when an electric field is applied to a solid containing positive and negative charge, the positive charges get displaced in the direction of the field towards the negative end while negative charges get displaced in the direction of the positive end of the field thus a dipole is set up.Polymer memory stores data in an entirely different manner in comparison to silicon devices. Instead of encoding zeroes and ones as the measure of charge stored in a cell, Coatues chips store data based on the polymers electrical resistance. Coatue fabricates the each memory cell as polymer sandwiched between the two electrodes. To actuate this cell framework the voltage is applied at the top and bottom electrodes. Use of an electric field to bring down the polymer’s resistance, thus expanding its ability to conduct current;the polymer keeps up its state until a field of opposite polarity is applied to raise its resistance back to its original level. The distinct conductivity States constitute bits of data.
Features of Polymer Memory :
- Zero transistors for every bit of storage.
- Memory is Nonvolatile.
- Microsecond initial reads. Write speed quicker than NAND and NOR Flash.
- Basic preparing, simple to coordinate with different CMOS.
- No cell backup control or refresh required.
- Operating temperature ranges between – 40 and 110°C.
Advantages of Polymer memory :
- Plastic memory is quick. Lab, assembled gadgets with a 1GB storage capacity have yielded read/write process durations that are multiple times (10 times) quicker than CompactFlash, which are commonly 10MB/s read, 1-4MB/s compose, thus providing quick read and write speed.
- Low power utilization.
- It requires far less transistors, commonly just 0.5M (million) for 1GB of storage capacity contrasted with silicon’s 1.5-6.5B (billion).
- It can be stacked vertically in an item, yielding 3D space utilization; silicon chips must be set adjacent to one another.
- Simple to fabricate: use ink-jet printers to shower fluid polymer circuits onto a surface
- The thin Film framework requires about 0.5 million transistors for each gigabyte of memory. The customary silicon-based framework would require between 1.5 to 6.5 billion transistors for that equivalent gigabyte.
Limitations of Polymer memory :
- Turning a polymer memory into a commercial memory is a tedious task as the memory technologies compete not only on the basis of storage capacity, but also in energy consumption, speed and unwavering quality and so on.
- It can read many times, but can write only one time.
- Until new memory materials can contend with the high performance of silicon, their notes, they are probably going to be constrained to niche applications.