density
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Researchers churn out "world's densest" memory circuit
Undoubtedly, there's been quite a few chips claiming to hold some sort of "world's smallest" title, but a team of researchers have crafted what they call the "most dense computer memory circuit ever fabricated," capable of "storing around 2,000 words in a unit the size of a white blood cell." Scientists at Caltech and UCLA put their proximity differences behind them for a bit to develop a 160-kilobit memory cell that purportedly has a record-setting density of "100 gigabits per square centimeter." The bantam chip is capable of holding a document the size of the US Declaration of Independence with room leftover for a few quarterly reports (or slow jams), but Caltech chemistry professor James Heath doubts that we'll see it in mainstream action anytime soon. Still, the team isn't backing down from its discovery, and hopes to see this manufactured and placed into laptops in the coming years.[Via Slashdot]
Fujitsu plans to boost drive capacity with advanced lubricants
It may not have the same "wow" factor as advances such as holographic storage or perpendicular recording (and probably doesn't have a funky flash video showing off its features), but Fujitsu has plans to increase hard drive capacity using advanced lubricants. The idea seems fairly simple: if you can reduce the space between the read/write head and the platter, you can squeeze more data into a smaller space. The problem is, there's only so close the head can get to the drive without causing damage. However, as Fujitsu sees it, new lubricants could eliminate such concerns, allowing the head to float a mere 2 nanometers above the drive, compared with 10 nm as is typical with current drives. While Fujitsu is being coy about specifics, the company boasts that the technology could allow hard drives with a capacity of 1 terabit per square inch by 2010. That would double the density offered by InPhase's holographic drives, which currently hold a record at a half-terabit per inch. So, as long as Fujitsu's lubrication solution doesn't involve, say, submerging your PC's innards in a tank of vegetable oil, we're ready for it.
