Privatran, a Texas start-up, is using technology developed at Rice University in Texas to develop memories using 5nm nanowires, according to Nano Letters.
Researchers at Rice separated sheets of polycrystalline silicon with a layer of silicon dioxide.
Putting an electric current between the two layers of polycrystalline silicon creates a chain of silicon crystals which can be disconnected and reconnected so acting as a switch.
One benefit is that the switch doesn’t have to hold a charge, so only two terminals are needed rather than three as in flash memory.
Another benefit is that the technology is eminently suitable for forming 3D structures.
The technology allows sub-10nm processing, a level of process technology not thought possible for conventional NAND.
Privatran is currently testing a 1Kbit memory IC.
Funding for the project is coming from the US Army Research Office, National Science Foundation, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) as well as some Small Business Technology Transfer programmes.