Chapter 13 - Role of Nanocomposites in Future Nanoelectronic Information Storage Devices

Abstract

In growth of nanotechnology, investigations of developments in nonvolatile memory devices based on hybrid nanocomposites offer great potential to implement future-integrated nanoelectronic systems for information storage. Conventional data memory works on the basis of electrons those are moved around and stored. However, even by atomic standards, electrons are extremely small and it is very difficult to control them. For this reason, researchers are working feverishly all over the world on nanoelectronic components that make use of ions, that is, charged atoms, for storing data. Ions are some thousands of times heavier than electrons and therefore much easier to “hold down.” In this way, the individual storage elements can almost be reduced to atomic dimension, which enormously improve the storage density. Among the various types of nonvolatile memory devices, hybrid nanocomposites have currently been receiving broad attention because of their excellent performance with high-mechanical flexibility, simple fabrication, and low cost.