16Gb NAND chips

[nanoorg]

15 August 2007 KBS World

16Gb NAND chips


Samsung Electronics has become the first in the world to begin mass-producing 16 gigabit (Gb) NAND flash memory chips. Made using 51 nanometers (nm) process technology, these chips can retain memory even after the power to a device is turned off. One nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, so this 51nm technology means that the circuit of the chip is composed of electronic lines that are one-2000th of the thickness of a hair. These 16 Gb NAND chips come just eight months after Samsung gave us 8Gb NAND chips “en masse,” using 60nm technology last August. According to Samsung, the new chips can read and write data nearly twice as fast as the 60nm chips now out on the market.

Speaking of nanotechnology, a team of South Korean scientists, led by Professor Kim Young-keun at Korea University, just last week developed a multi-functional nanowire that displays the characteristics of both iron and gold at the same time. The team said that the newly created substance has extensive commercial viability in the bio- and nano-tech fields. It’s called “nanowire,” because the diameter of the wire is equal to a nanometer, or one-billionth of a meter. It’ll be used to link minuscule components into extremely tiny circuits. Professor Kim said that the team’s new nanowire contains both the magnetic layer that iron components have, and the optical layer from gold, allowing it perform multiple functions. One of the biggest applications of the material will be in the biotechnology sector, for things like biosensors. The new multi-layer wire is expected to accelerate the crossover between nanotechnology and biotechnology in the future, and will be commercially viable because it’s made very easily, not like before when certain temperatures and complex procedures were necessary.



Source: http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/economynit/econit_tech_detail.htm?No=31



Story posted: 15th August 2007