Floating-Gate Device may revolutionize computer memory

A team of researchers from North Carolina State University claim to have created a memory device that could give computer users the speed advantages of DRAM system memory and the data retention capabilities of flash memory, in one unit. The new device could lead to genuine instant-on computing and machines with improved resiliency. The development may even lead to power-hungry server farms making considerable energy savings by allowing parts of the system to be shut down during periods of inactivity without fear of data loss.

The new scalable, dual-metal device is called a double floating-gate field effect transistor (FET) and is said to combine the advantages offered by two forms of computer memory currently in common usage. Nonvolatile memory, like that used in USB flash drives, allows data to be retained after the power is turned off while the volatile variety, like the memory modules slotted into a mainboard, offers faster read and write access but needs constant power for the retention of stored data.

Currently in the testing phase of development, the new FET device stores data as electric charge and uses a special control gate to quickly get to the stored data. Whereas modern nonvolatile flash memory uses a single floating gate to store the charge for long term data retention, the new device utilizes a second gate which is said to give the device transfer speeds comparable to current volatile DRAM memory. The researchers also believe that the new technology could "have a very long lifetime, when it comes to storing data in the volatile mode."

Unifying volatile and nonvolatile memory

The device's state is determined by its threshold voltage, and can be switched between the volatile and nonvolatile states quickly on a row-by-row basis. In bulk form, the device is said to be scalable to at least the 16nm node and can be three-dimensionally stacked using deposited layers of indium-gallium-zinc-oxide amorphous semiconductors, which have the potential to achieve better performance than amorphous silicon transistors. A stack of four devices could have similar densities to an 8nm node.

The research team believes that the new double floating gate FET device could potentially offer instant-on functionality, as the computer would not need to retrieve startup information from a hard drive. It should also lead to improvements in a computer's ability to withstand and recover from faults and could solve energy-proportional computing problems.

For instance, when a computer or server is just performing background tasks, the double gate allows portions of the memory to be powered down and reactivated as necessary without losing data. This could lead to enormous power savings at server farms, which currently need to maintain constant power throughout the whole system, even at times of low usage.

Authored by Daniel Schinke, Neil Di Spigna, Mihir Shiveshwarkar and Paul Franzon from North Carolina State University, the paper entitledComputing with Novel Floating-Gate Devices has been published in IEEE's journal Computer.

LiquidKeyboard said to make tablet touch-typing a might easier

If you've ever tried to transfer your touch-typing skills onto a touchscreen tablet's virtual keyboard, you'll know what an impossible task that can be. Apart from the fact that there's no tactile guide to tell you where keys are in relation to each other, placing all of your fingers onto the screen almost always causes accidental activation of unwanted keys. Researchers from the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) claim to have overcome such issues with the development of a QWERTY keyboard interface that should allow touch typists to tap away without needing visual prompts.

Early versions of the LiquidKeyboard system were developed using HTML and JavaScript, and are said to have been inspired by a virtual keyboard from Microsoft that used a split keyboard approach. Creators Christian Sax and Hannes Lau went on to develop the system for Apple's iOS operating system for the iPad, but say that the software could be adapted for use on other operating platforms. They chose the iPad believing it to have superior multi-touch capability, and because the cost of the hardware met their strict budget criteria.

Touch typing on a physical keyboard is more than just having a mental map of key location, it's also about getting some sort of tactile feedback from pressed keys, and about getting a sense of where keys are relative to others. While LiquidKeyboard can't do much about the physical typing sensation, it splits the QWERTY keys into allocatable groups and assigns sets to individual fingers – the upshot being that when the software detects four fingers being placed onto the surface of the display, it creates a fluid keyboard underneath the fingers.

When a finger is moved, the assigned group of virtual keys moves with it. The system is said to be capable of automatically adapting to a user's hand physiology (such as different hand sizes and finger positioning), and also responds to pressure. Keys are rotated based on wrist position and the system is said to offer the same sort of key familiarity allowed by a physical keyboard, but, according to Sax, "tries to create an input method that is adapted to the platform rather than recycling an old paradigm from the physical world."

The researchers from the Engineering and Information Technology department at UTS are currently working on refining the prototype.

I think that this has obvious potential for touch-typers like me, who find themselves craving a physical keyboard when typing on tablet devices. However, it could also open up new and interesting usage possibilities for note-takers in the business and student world, designers and modelers and, of course, gamers.