IBM says so-long to silicon?
1 min read
An alternative technology to silicon-based devices is being researched by IBM, which claims it will be able to create lower power non-volatile memory and logic chips.
Assuming that cmos technology is reaching its physical limits if Moore's law is to continue, IBM's search for a replacement has resulted in the discovery of a new way to operate chips that uses ionic currents.
IBM scientists can reversibly transform metal oxides between insulating and conductive states by the insertion and removal of oxygen ions driven by electric fields at oxide-liquid interfaces. The oxide materials are innately insulating and once they are transformed into a conducting state, they maintain a stable metallic state even when the device is not powered. This means that devices using this technology could be used to store and transport data in an energy efficient, event-driven manner instead of requiring power to maintain the status of the device.
In practice, the research team applied a positively charged ionic liquid electrolyte to vanadium dioxide - an insulating oxide material - and converted the material to a metallic state. The material remained in its metallic state until a negatively charged ionic liquid electrolyte was applied, converting it back to its original, insulating state.
