Scientists make fingertip-sized memory tabs with no moving parts:
- each paper-thin device could store more than a gigabyte of information - equivalent to 1,000 high quality images - in one cubic centimetre of space.
Experts have developed the technology by melding together organic and inorganic materials in a unique way.
They say it could be used to produce a single-use memory card that permanently stores data and is faster and easier to operate than a CD.
It's claimed that turning the invention into a commercially viable product might take as little as five years.
The card would not involve any moving parts, such as the laser and motor drive required by compact discs. Its secret is the discovery of a previously unknown property of a commonly-used conductive plastic coating.
US scientists at Princeton University, New Jersey, and computer giants Hewlett-Packard combined the polymer with very thin-film, silicon-based electronics.
....A report in the journal Nature described how the researchers identified a new property of a polymer called PEDOT. [Ananova]
Gigabyte recordable wafers - will they come in itlle tiny jewel cases?
MORE from Scientific American:
- The team predicts that one million bits of information could fit into a square millimeter of material the thickness of a sheet of paper. A block just a cubic centimeter in size could contain as many as 1,000 high-quality digital images, the scientists suggest, and producing it wouldn't require high-temperatures or vacuum chambers.
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Article comments
1 - Kurt Nordstrom
Hmm...this device is "paper-thin", yet described as a "cubic centimeter" in size? Did they mean "square centimeter", or just some really fat paper?
2 - Tom Johnson
As cool as it would be to have such small storage devices, there has to be a point at which small becomes "highly misplaceable" enough to the point where we can't keep track of things. And people are always going to like showing off how much stuff they have. How impressive is a stack of tiny paper-like devices going to be? Someone's going to package this in something large and shiny before it takes off outside of strictly computer uses. I, for one, can't get excited about picking up the new Pearl Jam wafer. And bye-bye (what's left of) album artwork. That makes me sad.
3 - Kurt Nordstrom
I'm sure that they can use some of that massive storage space to store a nice PNG of album artwork that will pop up when inserted into the (properly licensed) digital player of your choice.
Pearl Jam fails to excite me, wafer or no. But there's something interesting about that terminology. Meditate upon that.
4 - Eric Olsen
Kurt, "paper-thin" I added clarification from SciAm above.
Tom, I think they are aiming to replace CD-R's with this first. Kurt is right about the potential for art work galore with this thing. And you can print them out to look at away from the computer I am certain.
5 - Tom Johnson
Bah, "printing out" is nuthin'. I like getting the packages for the gorgeous papers used in some, or the intriguing varnish prints on others. An inkjet's fine for some things, but when it comes to music I need the real, professionally-produced thing. Bah, I say!
6 - Eric Olsen
My point is I think we'll be getting more of this kind of thing for home use - fancy arty paper and the like, with the "storage wafer" or whatever the storage device is, telling you what kind of paper to use automatically. You will buy a packet of this stuff and the printer will be told which to use when. Or something like that. Art is the biggest complaint now, it will only get worse as things shrink, so why not something like this to remedy it?