RRAM memory 3D printed onto paper

While paper is an ideal substrate for printed memory because of its affordability and extreme light weight, it also has a very high absorption rate. As such, the researchers began by coating it with layers of carbon. They then set out to create an insulator that could be sandwiched between two electrodes and switched between 0 and 1, acting as a single bit of memory. Using titanium dioxide as the 'ink', the team used a traditional ink-jet printer that had been modified to print dots which would act as the electrodes. They found that an 8.5 x 11in piece of paper could hold around 1MB of memory. What's even more impressive is the fact that each bit of memory also has the capability to maintain its state of 0 or 1 for as long as eight minutes without a supply of power. Although there is still a lot of work to be done before we'll all be able to 3D print our own foldable memory chips at home, the researchers say the discovery is a big step towards integrating memory into future 3D printing applications.