"Quasi-Non-Volatile" Memory Looks to Fill Gap Between Volatile and Non-Volatile Memory

Apr. 19, 2018 – 

Researchers at Fudan University in Shanghai, China have leveraged two-dimensional (2D) materials to fabricate a relatively new gate design for transistors that may fill the gap between volatile and non-volatile memory.

The result is what the researchers are dubbing a "quasi-non-volatile" device that combines the benefits of static random access memory (SRAM) and dynamic random access memory (DRAM). The new device will make up for DRAM's limited data retention ability and its need to be frequently refreshed and SRAM's high cost.

In research described inNature Nanotechnology, the Chinese researchers leveraged a gate design that has been gaining popularity, recently called semi-floating gate (SFG) memory technology. The SFG gate design is similar to a typical field effect transistor except that SFG transistor can "remember" the applied voltage from the gate.