The research was published this month in the Journal of Applied Physics and will be presented at the nanotechnology conference at Bar-Ilan University this coming Monday (29/5/06)
Avi Blizovsky
A researcher from Bar-Ilan University and a group of researchers from Yale University are developing a completely new type of non-volatile (and cheap!) computer memories that allow the operating system to be kept in memory ■ The result: a significant shortening of the computer's operating time
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The long seconds, familiar to all of us every time we turn on the computer, are about to disappear from our lives. A researcher from Bar-Ilan University and a group of scientists from Yale University are currently working on the development of a new and relatively cheap type of computer memory, which will be able to shorten the tedious wait.
This is a memory of the type known as magnetic RAM (MRAM), which can, among other things, replace the volatile memories that are currently used in all computers. Since it is non-volatile, it will not be necessary to wait until the data necessary for activation is transferred to it from the hard disk, and in fact it will be possible to store the operating system in it, so that the computer will boot up within a fraction of a second from the moment the power switch is pressed.
In addition to the improvement in speed, the development will offer immunity against data loss in the event of a power outage, and savings in current consumption - essential for both portable computers and server farms. They are other notable advantages, which certainly meet real needs that exist in the market.
Prof. Lior Klein from the physics department at Bar Ilan, the developer and partner of the research group, explains the potential of the innovation: "The new memory could be used as a universal memory. It is expected to have a dramatic impact on the computing architecture, because it will no longer be necessary to transfer information between different types of memories. In addition to the volatile RAM memories, it will also be able to replace the flash memories, and in fact, for most applications, also the hard disks. Using uniform memory will significantly shorten the operation of the computer."
Although news has been published in the past about attempts by companies such as IBM and Freescale to develop magnetic memories with similar capabilities, but their cost is quite high. The uniqueness of the magnetic memories being developed at Bar-Ilan and Bayel is their low production cost.
While the big companies are developing magnetic memories based on a physical effect known as "quantum tunneling between magnetic layers", the scientists at Bar-Ilan and Bayle are content with a single magnetic layer using a nanotechnology-based effect known as the "surface Hall effect". A fact that eliminates the need to create complex multi-layered structures that require a high level of precision in the thickness of the layers of the memory chips, which complicates and makes the production process more expensive. The researchers have applied for a patent in the US, and are awaiting a decision on its registration.
The May 2006 issue of the Journal of Applied Physics reports on the impressive development in the field of computing. Those who would like to hear about it first hand will be able to do so at the international nanotechnology conference that will open this Monday (29/5/2006) at Bar-Ilan University, where the innovation will be presented by its developers. After the conference, the nanotechnology center will be inaugurated in Bar Ilan, which is currently being established with an investment of 130 million dollars.
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An international nanotechnology conference will open tomorrow at Bar-Ilan University
Dozens of senior researchers from Israel and the world will present the latest innovations in the field ■ Among them: Magnetic memory for a computer that allows the computer to be turned on in a second ■ An "artificial nose" that will enable the detection of individual molecules of a toxic substance ■ Bacteria-repellent clothing for use in hospitals ■ Next week, Bar-Ilan University will be inducted Nanotechnology Institute ■ The university is increasing its research staff and has begun building a huge nano research center at a cost of NIS 130 million. ■ On Monday-Wednesday (May 29-31.5) at the Gonda Brain Research Center (Goldschmid), building 901
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At Bar-Ilan University, the International Conference on Nanotechnology will open tomorrow (Monday). The conference, which will last three days, will be attended by dozens of senior researchers from abroad and from Israel, who will present the new developments in the various fields of nanotechnology - chemistry, physics, materials, biology, and more. The conference sessions will deal with nano -Tubes, scanning microscopes, molecular electronics and magnetism, the toxicity of nanotechnology, nanobiology - nanotechnology applications in medicine, nanoscale production, advanced materials, use of nano for production in the semiconductor industry, and more.
"Bar-Ilan University is in the midst of the nanotechnology revolution," explains Prof. Moshe Koa, the president of the university, and a world-renowned physicist in his field. "Nanotechnology contains the important scientific and medical developments of the future. Bar-Ilan University considers it an academic and social duty to invest in research in the field, and in a few days we will even inaugurate the largest and leading nanotechnology institute in Israel, which will be built at a cost of about 130 million NIS, said Kove.
Prof. Avi Ullman, director of the Nanotechnology Center at Bar-Ilan University, says ahead of the conference that "the nanotechnology revolution has begun and it will affect all of our ways of life. Nanotechnology provides tools to make changes to the material at the molecular level, and allows the use of the smallest parts of the material to create complex materials and aids with new properties that did not exist until now. Nanotechnology will have a far-reaching impact on medicine, advanced diagnosis and cure of diseases such as cancer and other diseases; Nanotechnology will create stronger advanced materials that will enable water purification, air purification, communication, computing and more."
Among the many applications developed at Bar-Ilan University by researchers in the field of nanotechnology:
• An "artificial nose" that will enable the detection of individual molecules of a toxic substance
• Germ-repellent clothing for use in hospitals
• Solar collectors made of plastic, which can turn the sun's energy into electricity
• Computers that will turn on immediately because their RAM memory will be non-erasable.
• Cancer drugs that work only on the cancer cells and more.
Among the participants in the conference: Prof. Horst Vogel from the Lausanne Polytechnic Institute in Switzerland Prof. David Reinhoudt from the University of Massa in the Netherlands Prof. Harald Fuchs from the University of Münster in Germany as well as senior officials in the field in Israel including Prof. Aryeh Tsavan, and Prof. Aviad Friedman from Bar-Ilan University, Prof. Rashef Tana and Prof. Ehud Shapira from the Weizmann Institute, Prof. Ehud Gazit from Tel Aviv University, Prof. Uri Sion from the Technion, and more.
The conference is being held at the same time as the meeting of the Board of Trustees of Bar-Ilan University, during which there will be an inauguration ceremony for the new Institute of Nanotechnology at Bar-Ilan University, the construction of which has begun, with an investment of 130 million dollars. The new institute will contain interdisciplinary laboratories as well as a facility for incubator companies that will engage in commercial developments based on the research of Bar-Ilan scientists.
Conference program
Nanotechnology connoisseur
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