PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

'Wonder material' graphene tapped for electronic memory devices

2011-08-01
(Press-News.org) Electronic memory devices, which store information, are increasingly expected to provide not only greater storage density, but also faster access to information. As storage density increases, however, power consumption and unwanted heat generation also increase, and the fidelity of accessing the memory is frequently diminished. Various platforms exist to overcome these hurdles, according to a team led by University of California at Los Angeles researchers, which they describe in detail in the AIP's Applied Physics Letters. A spin-transfer-torque device, for example, relies on a clever technique for storing and accessing information in a magnetic dipole moment, which is similar to a hard drive. Information can be stored in a ferroelectric material in the form of an electric dipole moment in a class of devices known as "ferroelectric-field-effect-transistors" or more commonly as FFETs. For this research, graphene is used to write and read the electric dipole moments of an underlying ferroelectric material. And the very good news, the researchers report, is that this graphene-FFET has a high fidelity and low operating voltage. Future work will focus on improving the speed of the device's performance.

###

Article: "Robust bi-stable memory operation in single-layer graphene ferroelectric memory" is accepted for publication in Applied Physics Letters.

Authors: Emil Beom Song (1), Bob Lian (1), Sung Min Kim (1), Sejoon Lee (1), Tien-Kan Chung (2), Minsheng Wang (1), Caifu Zeng (1), Guangya Xu (1), Kin Wong (1), Yi Zhou (1), Haider I. Rasool (1), David H. Seo (3), Hyun-Jong Chung (3), Jinseong Heo (3), Sunae Seo (4), and Kang L. Wang (1)

(1) University of California, Los Angeles
(2) National Chiao Tung University
(3) Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology
(4) Sejong University

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Solar cells get a boost from bouncing light

2011-08-01
By engineering alternating layers of nanometer and micrometer particles, a team of engineers from the University of Minnesota has improved the efficiency of a type of solar cell by as much as 26 percent. These cells, known as dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC), are made of titanium dioxide (TiO2), a photosensitive material that is less expensive than the more traditional silicon solar cells, which are rapidly approaching the theoretical limit of their efficiency. Current DSSC designs, however, are only about 10 percent efficient. One reason for this low efficiency is that ...

Motorcycle helmets hard on hearing

2011-08-01
The distinctive roar of a Harley's engine is loud, but studies have revealed the biggest source of noise for motorcyclists is actually generated by air whooshing over the riders' helmets. Even at legal speeds, the sound can exceed safe levels. Now, scientists have identified a key source of the rushing din. Researchers from the University of Bath and Bath Spa University placed motorcycles helmets atop mannequin heads, mounted them in a wind tunnel, and turned on the fans. By placing microphones at different locations around the helmet and at the mannequin's ear, the researchers ...

Warmed-up organic memory transistor has larger memory capacity

2011-08-01
Plastics are cheap, flexible, and relatively easy to manufacture, but they can also be more heat sensitive than other materials such as metals. The same goes for plastic (or organic) electronics, which offer the promise of foldable displays or thin, inexpensive devices, but react to temperature swings differently than traditional silicon-based electronics. So, researchers at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University decided to explore this temperature-dependent behavior more closely. They took a non-volatile organic memory transistor, made from the plastic pentacene and a layer ...

Rice scientists build battery in a nanowire

2011-08-01
The world at large runs on lithium ion batteries. New research at Rice University shows that tiny worlds may soon do the same. The Rice lab of Professor Pulickel Ajayan has packed an entire lithium ion energy storage device into a single nanowire, as reported this month in the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters. The researchers believe their creation is as small as such devices can possibly get, and could be valuable as a rechargeable power source for new generations of nanoelectronics. In their paper, researchers described testing two versions of their ...

Study shows missed opportunities for HIV diagnosis in emergency departments

2011-08-01
CINCINNATI—New University of Cincinnati (UC) research on HIV testing at local emergency departments shows that hospitals miss opportunities to diagnose patients who do not know they are infected with HIV, even when a regular testing program is in place. The study is part of a special supplement to the July issue of Annals of Emergency Medicine, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The supplement includes a series of studies on HIV testing in the nation's emergency departments, finding that while a growing number of emergency departments (EDs) ...

New findings on therapeutic hypothermia following cardiac arrest in children

New findings on therapeutic hypothermia following cardiac arrest in children
2011-08-01
New Rochelle, NY, July 29, 2011–Intravenous delivery of cold fluids to reduce body temperature quickly after a heart attack and improve neurologic outcomes may not be as effective in children as it is in adults, according to a study reported in Therapeutic Hypothermia and Temperature Management, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The article is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/ther In adults, therapeutic hypothermia to minimize neurological complications caused by cardiac arrest can be achieved by rapidly infusing cold (4oC) intravenous ...

How McCartney and football helped Liverpool in China

2011-08-01
Los Angeles, CA (July 29th, 2011) – The city of Liverpool made a bold move in investing in exhibiting at the 2010 World Expo in its twin city of Shanghai, China. According to research in the journal Local Economy published by SAGE, the city is beginning to reap the benefits both of inward investment, and of a higher profile in, and strengthened relationships with China. Liverpool was the only city in the UK to take the decision to promote itself at the 2010 World Expo, in the economically dynamic city of Shanghai, in a country whose economy is growing faster than any ...

Physicists report progress in understanding high-temperature superconductors

2011-08-01
SANTA CRUZ, CA--Although high-temperature superconductors are widely used in technologies such as MRI machines, explaining the unusual properties of these materials remains an unsolved problem for theoretical physicists. Major progress in this important field has now been reported by physicists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in a pair of papers published back-to-back in the July 29 issue of Physical Review Letters. The first paper, by UCSC physicist Sriram Shastry, presents a new theory of "Extremely Correlated Fermi Liquids." The second paper compares calculations ...

REM sleep behavior disorder is a risk factor for Parkinson's disease

REM sleep behavior disorder is a risk factor for Parkinsons disease
2011-08-01
Patients suffering REM sleep behaviour disorders dream nightmares in which they are attacked and pursued, with the particularity that they express them by screaming, crying, punching and kicking while sleeping. Lancet Neurology has published the third consecutive work in five years about the relationship between this disorder and Parkinson's disease. The first work showed in 2006 that 45% of patients who suffer this sleep disorder develop Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases caused by a lack of dopamine in the brain. The second article discovered that ...

Penn chemists make first molecular binding measurement of radon

2011-08-01
PHILADELPHIA — Even in trace quantities, the radioactive gas radon is very dangerous; it is second only to cigarette smoking as a cause of lung cancer deaths in the United States. The expense and precautions necessary to study it safely have limited research into its properties. Now, University of Pennsylvania chemists have for the first time measured how well radon binds to a molecule, paving the way for future research on it and other noble gasses. The research was led by associate professor Ivan J. Dmochowski, along with undergraduate Vagelos Scholar David R. ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Predictable structures in music synchronises blood pressure the most, and could be used to create personalized music-based cardiovascular therapies  

New systematic review and meta-analysis shows an association between shingles vaccination and lower risk of heart attack and stroke 

Food for thought: Using food delivery services to provide rapid cardiac arrest response and potentially save lives

College drinking linked to poor academics, mental health for those around the drinker: Study

Nearly 80% of whale sharks in this marine tourism hotspot have human-caused scars

Spider uses trapped fireflies as glowing bait to attract more prey

How AI can build bridges between nations, if diplomats use it wisely

80% of Americans don’t know early-stage prostate cancer often has no symptoms

Researchers engineer ureter tissue from stem cells, paving way for transplantable kidneys

Strong, evidence-based leadership at CDC essential in wake of director’s exit, says SHEA

Birdwatching tourism is booming. Some countries are benefiting, while others are left behind

High protein or Trp diet increases the risk of cancer-associated venous thromboembolism

Risk of a second cancer after early breast cancer is low

Genetic key to why immune responses differ between men and women

Discovery could lead to new treatments for life-threatening allergic reactions

CRF announces TCT 2025 late-breaking clinical trials and science

Ancient DNA reveals farming spread through migration, locals slow to adopt it

Researchers turn mouse scalp transparent to image brain development

New research reveals longevity gains slowing, life expectancy of 100 unlikely

Wheat that makes its own fertilizer

Certain communities of pond plants may increase greenhouse gases

Hormone therapy type matters for memory performance after menopause

Stroke risk highest among Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander people

Scientists reveal warped protoplanetary discs, reshaping ideas about how planets form

Be it feast or famine, orangutans adapt with flexible diets

Insomnia patients report better sleep when taking cannabis-based medical products

Intrusive distracting thoughts may be associated with anxiety and linked to lower well-being, and occur more often when alone than in company

New crocodile-relative “hypercarnivore” from prehistoric Patagonia was 11.5ft long and weighed 250kg

“Unhappiness hump” in aging may have disappeared worldwide

Breathwork can induce altered states of consciousness linked with changes in brain blood flow

[Press-News.org] 'Wonder material' graphene tapped for electronic memory devices