Research at Cornell University could lead to low-power, high-efficiency memory chips. It takes strontium titanate oxide and squeezes it on silicon in a fashion that would make the two organic compounds ferroelectric. Ferroelectric materials are already used as memory for storing data on subway passes, for example, but could find a use in transistors as well. Headed by Cornell materials scientist Darrell Schlom, the research could translate into faster, low-power transistors that can be turned on instantly.

The Cornell film could lead to handheld and desktop computers that do not need a boot time, but simply power on and off. The transistors' state is non-volatile and therefore remains what it was when it was turned off.

Cornell made the material thanks to a process called molecular-beam epitaxy, described in more layman terms as "atomic spray painting." It involves growing the non-ferroelectric strontium titanate onto a silicon substrate using the epitaxy process. During the process, strontium titanate is squeezed within the spaces of the silicon molecules, with the constriction of the molecules causing the strontium titanate to become ferroelectric.

"From various predictions, some dating back nearly a decade, we knew exactly what we were after, but it took our team years to achieve and demonstrate the predicted effect," Schlom said.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research and the Department of Energy. It's not certain how soon the technology is likely to reach commercial products. [via DailyTech]