A computer that starts in one second, a data center that has only a fraction of its current energy needs: U.S. researchers may have created the basis to fulfill those dreams - revolutionize a tiny part, the memory chips could. Researchers at North Carolina State University are sure you have developed a semiconductor chip that could improve the computer significantly.Basically, these are a new type of transistors, the properties of so-called flash memory, as used in iPods, connecting with the speed of DRAM memory as it is used as main memory in PCs and notebooks. This sounds at first very technical and not particularly exciting. But the director of the research team, Professor Paul Franzon, is enthusiastic: "We have developed a new device that could revolutionize the computer memory.
If the invention of American researchers to be a genuine product once, he could also well be right. So far, namely, there are two types of computer memory, which have very different characteristics. As the memory used in computers known as DRAM chips, because they are pretty fast. Your flaws: Once you lose the power it off her mind.
Flash memory chips do not have this problem. Therefore, they are sometimes used in iPods, mobile phones and digital cameras as a permanent memory. They are robust, never forget, but are just too slow. Those who take up a high-resolution camera photos in RAW format, knows the problem. Presented by researchers as a "double floating-gate field effect transistor (FET) described new type of transistor is lifting these restrictions now.
Using a trick it is possible for him, either data quickly, as in DRAM, or for permanent storage, such as to store in flash memory. A combination of both techniques is possible, explains Franzon. Fast and frugal at the same time, a PC based on such a memory would be ready to use after pressing the power button, because operating systems and programs not only from a hard drive would have to be loaded into memory, but even after turning off the power remained.
Those who already use a notebook with a flash drive, such as the Macbook Air can imagine the coincidence. Even with such devices, the starting process by the fast internal memory will drastically cut. Even more significant, but it could be the benefit of such a memory in data centers. Companies like Google, Microsoft and Apple, which operate thousands of servers need to have these machines run independently of the efficiency, day and night, because lost when the memory content would go.
With the new memory type, however, such as might night, when the servers are little used, save the current memory to be turned off. As soon as he was needed again, he would be working within seconds. Transistors can amplify electrical signals (important when used in radios) or act as a non-mechanical switches.
As switches, transistors are the two basic states of the binary system: Power or no power, 1 or 0 - the basis of information technology. Until then, that you can equip with such super-computer chips, however, likely to take several years. From the development of such a transistor to a microchip in the millions or even billions, of such transistors are placed, it is a long way.
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