Chinese scientists have announced a groundbreaking development in the field of data storage, with the creation of an innovative ferroelectric material that could provide data storage chips with an almost endless service life. This new material has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of operating data centers and could find applications in deep-sea research and aerospace industries.
Ferroelectric materials play a crucial role in the production of chips for data storage and sensors, particularly in the context of the technological rivalry between the United States and China. In 2022, the largest Chinese memory chip manufacturer, Yangtze Memory Technologies Co, was equipped with the necessary tools for chip production. This development prompted China to invest heavily in developing its own technologies, leading the country to achieve mass production of chips and break the monopoly of foreign manufacturers.
Over the past year, there has been a 90% decrease in memory chip prices, significantly impacting the cost of computer memory, automotive chips, solid-state drives, USB boards, and flash memory for smartphones.
Ferroelectric materials are highly desirable for chip production due to their low energy consumption, fast read and write speeds, and the ability to retain stability even after the electric field is removed. However, traditional ferroelectric materials like PZT (Pig zirconate) are susceptible to fatigue wear, leading to reduced productivity and device failures.
Chinese researchers have successfully addressed this issue by enhancing the structure of the material, as reported in a study led by Professor Zhong Zhichen from the Institute of Technology and Materials at Ningbo Materials of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Professor Liu Futsay from the University of Electronic Sciences and Technologies of China, and Professor Lee Wenwa from Fudan University. Their findings were published in the journal Science.
The study explained that fatigue wear in materials is caused by defects accumulating during data storage and reading processes, hindering the polarization process. The research team achieved a significant breakthrough in data storage by introducing a new class of ferroelectric materials that are immune to fatigue issues. Traditional ferroelectric materials degrade over time due to the buildup of charged defects,