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Researchers Print Electronic Memory On Paper

Posted by Unknown on from the pen-and-paper-computing dept.

MTorrice (2611475) writes Electronics printed on paper promise to be cheap, flexible, and recyclable, and could lead to applications such as smart labels on foods and pharmaceuticals or as wearable medical sensors. Many engineers have managed to print transistors and solar cells on paper, but one key component of a smart device has been missing—memory. Now a group of researchers has developed a method that uses ink-jet technology to print resistive random access memory on an ordinary letter sized piece of paper. The memory is robust: Engineers could bend the device 1,000 times without any loss of performance. The memory is not yet very dense, but could be: "Each silver dot they printed was approximately 50 microns across and separated from its neighbor by 25 microns, so each bit of memory is 100 microns on a side. At that size, a standard 8.5- by 11-inch piece of paper can hold 1 MB of memory. Der-Hsien Lien, the paper's lead author, says existing ultrafine ink-jet technology can produce dots less than 1 micron across, which would allow the same piece of paper to hold 1 gigabyte. Reading and writing the bits takes 100 to 200 microseconds"

4 of 78 comments (clear)

  1. Old news... by chinton · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've been printing my memory on paper since I could hold a pencil...

  2. Density by mythosaz · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What's the current density of machine-readable written information on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper?

    I'm going to guess more than a meg.

  3. But what if... by rhazz · · Score: 4, Funny

    If I store my MP3s on this sheet of paper and then photocopy it, is that copyright infringement?

  4. Ink? Nope. by denzacar · · Score: 4, Funny

    because ... ink cartridges! ;-)

    Think milk cartons. That sing joyful tunes and jingles when you open your fridge.

    Packaging that remembers you - wherever you are.
    Which will give you your very own personal discount cause it knows that your milk carton at home is only just opened, but it knows from your profile that you like a bargain.

    Products will express you when you buy them, and sadness when you don't.
    They will be your friends. They will know your favorite things.
    They will love you like you were never loved by anyone else.
    Your dog will be jealous. Your cat will try to kill them.

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens