NANO-RAM

ABSTRACT

Nano-RAM is a proprietary computer memory technology from the company

Nantero and NANOMOTOR is invented by University of bologna and California nano
systems. NRAM is a type of nonvolatile random access memory based on the mechanical
position of carbon nanotubes deposited on a chip-like substrate. In theory the small size of
the nanotubes allows for very high density memories.

Nantero also refers to it as NRAM in short, but this acronym is also commonly used
as a synonym for the more common NVRAM, which refers to all nonvolatile RAM
[Link] is a molecular motor which works continuously without the
consumption of fuels. It is powered by sunlight. The researches are federally funded by
national science foundation and national academy of science.

Carbon Nanotubes Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a recently discovered allotrope of

[Link] take the form of cylindrical carbon molecules and have novel properties that
make them potentially useful in a wide variety of applications in nanotechnology,
electronics, optics, and other fields of materials science.

They exhibit extraordinary strength and unique electrical properties, and are
efficient conductors of heat. Inorganic nanotubes have also been synthesized. A nanotube is
a member of the fullerene structural family, which also includes buckyballs. Whereas
buckyballs are spherical in shape, a nanotube is cylindrical, with at least one end typically
capped with a hemisphere of the buckyball structure.

Page | 1
NANO-RAM

CHAPTER 1::INTRODUCTION

NANOTECHNOLOGY

There's an unprecedented multidisciplinary convergence of scientists

dedicated to the study of a world so small, we can't see it -- even with a light
microscope. That world is the field of nanotechnology, the realm of atoms and
nanostructures. Nanotechnology is so new, no one is really sure what will come of it.
Even so, predictions range from the ability to reproduce things like diamonds and
food to the world being devoured by self-replicating nanorobots.

In order to understand the unusual world of nanotechnology, we need to get an

idea of the units of measure involved. A centimeter is one-hundredth of a meter, a
millimeter is one-thousandth of a meter, and a micrometer is one-millionth of a meter,
but all of these are still huge compared to the nanoscale. A nanometer (nm) is one-
billionth of a meter, smaller than the wavelength of visible light and a hundred-
thousandth the width of a human hair.

As small as a nanometer is, it's still large compared to the atomic scale. An
atom has a diameter of about 0.1 nm. An atom's nucleus is much smaller -- about
0.00001 nm. Atoms are the building blocks for all matter in our universe. You and
everything around you are made of atoms. Nature has perfected the science of
manufacturing matter molecularly. For instance, our bodies are assembled in a
specific manner from millions of living cells. Cells are nature's nanomachines. At the
atomic scale, elements are at their most basic level. On the nanoscale, we can
potentially put these atoms together to make almost anything.

In a lecture called "Small Wonders: The World of Nanoscience," Nobel

Prize winner Dr. Horst Störmer said that the nanoscale is more interesting than the
atomic scale because the nanoscale is the first point where we can assemble

Page | 2
NANO-RAM

something -- it's not until we start putting atoms together that we can make anything
useful.

Experts sometimes disagree about what constitutes the nanoscale, but in general,
you can think of nanotechnology dealing with anything measuring between 1 and 100 nm.
Larger than that is the microscale, and smaller than that is the atomic scale.

Nanotechnology is rapidly becoming an interdisciplinary field. Biologists,

chemists, physicists and engineers are all involved in the study of substances at the
nanoscale. Dr. Störmer hopes that the different disciplines develop a common language
and communicate with one another [source: Störmer]. Only then, he says, can we
effectively teach nanoscience since you can't understand the world of nanotechnology
without a solid background in multiple sciences.

One of the exciting and challenging aspects of the nanoscale is the role that quantum
mechanics plays in it. The rules of quantum mechanics are very different from classical
physics, which means that the behavior of substances at the nanoscale can sometimes
contradict common sense by behaving erratically. You can't walk up to a wall and
immediately teleport to the other side of it, but at the nanoscale an electron can -- it's
called electron tunneling. Substances that are insulators, meaning they can't carry an electric
charge, in bulk form might become semiconductors when reduced to the nanoscale. Melting
points can change due to an increase in surface area. Much of nanoscience requires that you
forget what you know and start learning all over again.

At the nanoscale, objects are so small that we can't see them -- even with a light
microscope. Nonscientists have to use tools like scanning tunneling microscopes or atomic
force microscopes to observe anything at the nanoscale. Scanning tunneling microscopes
use a weak electric current to probe the scanned material. Atomic force microscopes scan
surfaces with an incredibly fine tip. Both microscopes send data to computer, which can
assemble the information and project it graphically onto a monitor.

Page | 3
NANO-RAM

NANO-RAM

Basically in NANO-RAM, there are two words of different technologies and are
attached together. First one is the Nanotechnology and second one is the Ramdom access
memory. We have already taken information about the nanotechnology, lets see what is
RAM. What these both contribute to the new research called NANO-RAM.

Random-access memory (RAM) is a form of computer data storage. Today, it

takes the form of integrated circuits that allow stored data to be accessed in any order (i.e.,
at random). "Random" refers to the idea that any piece of data can be returned in a constant
time, regardless of its physical location and whether or not it is related to the previous piece
of data.

By contrast, storage devices such as magnetic discs and optical discs rely on the
physical movement of the recording medium or a reading head. In these devices, the
movement takes longer than data transfer, and the retrieval time varies based on the
physical location of the next item.

Most forms of modern random access memory (RAM) are volatile storage,
including dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and static random access
memory (SRAM). Content addressable memory and dual-ported RAM are usually
implemented using volatile storage. Early volatile storage technologies include delay line
memory and William’s tube.

Volatile memory, also known as volatile storage, is computer memory that

requires power to maintain the stored information, unlike non-volatile memory which does
not require a maintained power supply. It has been less popularly known as temporary
memory.

Page | 4
NANO-RAM

Nano-Ram is the new era memory which is not now yet completely discovered but it
shows a light towards the new age of electronics which totally has a new look and working
strategies. It now travels from micrometer to nanometer with a great working capabilities
and strengths.

Nano-RAM is a proprietary computer memory technology from the company

Nantero and NANOMOTOR is invented by University of bologna and California nano
systems. RAM is a type of nonvolatile random access memory based on the mechanical
position of carbon nanotubes deposited on a chip-like substrate. In theory the small size of
the nanotubes allows for very high density memories. Nantero also refers to it as NRAM in
short, but this acronym is also commonly used as a synonym for the more common
NVRAM, which refers to all nonvolatile RAM memories. Nanomotor is a molecular motor
which works continuously without the consumption of fuels. It is powered by sunlight. The
research is federally funded by national science foundation and national academy of
science.

Page | 5
NANO-RAM

CARBON NANOTUBES

The term nanotubes is normally used to refer to the carbon nanotubes, which has
received enormous attention from researchers over the last few years and promises, along
with close relatives such as the nanohorn, a host of interesting applications. There are many
others types of nanotubes, from various inorganic kinds such as, those made from boron
nitride, to organic ones, such as those made from self-assembling cyclic peptides (proteins
components) or from naturally occurring heat shock proteins(extracted from bacteria that
thrive in extreme environments). However, carbon nanotubes excites the most interest,
promise the greatest variety of application and currently appear to have by far the highest
commercial potential.

Carbon nanotubes were discovered in 1991 by Sumio Iijima of NEC and are
effectively long, thin cylinders of graphite, which you wiil be familiar with as the material
in a pencil or as the basis of some lubricants. Graphite is made up of layers of carbon atoms
arranged in a hexagonal lattice, like chicken wire. Though the chicken wire structure itself
is very strong, the layers themselves sure not chemically bonded to each other but held
together by weak forces called Van der Waals. It is the sliding across each other of these
layers that gives graphite its lubricating qualities and makes the mark on a piece of paper as
you draw your pencil over it.

Now imagine taking one of these sheets of chicken wire and rolling it up into a
cylinder and joining the loose wore ends. The result is a tube that was once described by
Richard Smalley (who shared the Nobel Prize for the discovery of a related form of carbon
called buckminsterfullerene) as

“In one direction….the strongest damn thing you’ll ever make in this universe”. In
addition to their remarkable strength, this is usually quoted a 100 times that of steel at one-
sixth of the weight (this is tensile strength-the ability to withstand a stretching force without
breaking), carbon nanotubes have shown a surprising array of other properties. They can

Page | 6
NANO-RAM

conduct heat as efficiently as diamond, conduct electricity as efficiently as copper, yet also
be semiconducting (like the materials that make up the chips in our computers). They can
produce streams of electrons very efficiently (field emission), which can be used to create
light in displays for televisions or computers, or even in domestic lighting, and they can
enhance the fluorescence of materials they are close to. Their electrical properties can be
made to change in the presence can act like miniature springs and they can even be stuffed
with other material. Nanotubes and their variants hold promise for storing fuels such as
hydrogen or methanol for use in fuel cells and they make good support for catalysts.

Page | 7
NANO-RAM

CHAPTER 2::CARBON NANOTUBES

STRUCTURE OF CARBON

NANOTUBES

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs; also known as buckytubes) are allotropes of carbon with
a cylindrical nanostructure. Nanotubes have been constructed with length-to-diameter ratio
of up to 132,000,000:1] which is significantly larger than any other material. These
cylindrical carbon molecules have novel properties that make them potentially useful in
many applications in nanotechnology, electronics, optics and other fields of materials
science, as well as potential uses in architectural fields. They exhibit extraordinary strength
and unique electrical properties, and are efficient thermal conductors.

The nature of the bonding of a nanotube is described by applied quantum chemistry,

specifically, orbital hybridization. The chemical bonding of nanotubes is composed entirely
of sp2 bonds, similar to those of graphite. This bonding structure, which is stronger than
the sp3 bonds found in diamonds, provides the molecules with their unique strength.
Nanotubes naturally align themselves into "ropes" held together by Van der Waals forces.

Since carbon nanotubes were discovered on accident by Sumio Iijima in 1991

during another experiment, hundreds of studies have been started and dedicated to
achieving a better understanding of the structure of carbon nanotubes. Although the
structure of carbon nanotubes has been extensively studied by researchers and scientists in a
wide variety of fields including materials science, architecture, agriculture and engineering,
the full implications of this tiny microscopic wonder are still locked away in its unique
natural creation, varied structural components and its ability to be both immensely flexible
as well as incredibly strong.

Carbon comes in many forms. Two well-known forms of carbon are graphite and

Page | 8
NANO-RAM

diamond. Graphite and diamond have drastically different mechanical properties such as
hardness. Diamond is one of the hardest materials known to man. It can cut through glass.
Graphite, on the other hand, is a very soft material, used in pencil lead.
The difference in properties is due to the structure of the atoms and their bonds in
the material, also known as the materials crystal
structure. Graphite is made up of stacked sheets of
hexagons with a carbon atom at each corner of the
hexagon, and looks much like chicken wire. These
sheets are stacked one on top of the other, but
easily slip and slide. Diamond has a tetragonal
crystal structure with very few slip planes.
Carbon nanotubes are a fairly new form of
carbon. A carbon nanotube structure looks
like sheets of graphite that have been rolled up to
form small tubes. This small
difference in structure leads to a much stronger,
stiffer material. Carbon nanotubes have a diameter of 1 to 10 nanometers, yet they are 50
times stronger than steel.

The special nature of carbon combines with the molecular perfection of buckytubes
(single-wall carbon nanotubes) to endow them with exceptionally high material properties such
as electrical and thermal conductivity, strength, stiffness, and toughness. No other element in the
periodic table bonds to itself in an extended network with the strength of the carbon-carbon
bond. The delocalised pi-electron donated by each atom is free to move about the entire
structure, rather than stay home with its donor atom, giving rise to the first molecule with
metallic-type electrical conductivity. The high-frequency carbon-carbon bond vibrations provide
an intrinsic thermal conductivity higher than even diamond.

In most materials, however, the actual observed material properties - strength, electrical
conductivity, etc. - are degraded very substantially by the occurrence of defects in their structure.
For example, high strength steel typically fails at about 1% of its theoretical breaking strength.

Page | 9
NANO-RAM

Buckytubes, however, achieve values very close to their theoretical limits because of their
perfection of structure - their molecular perfection. This aspect is part of the unique story of
buckytubes.

Buckytubes are an example of true nanotechnology: only a nanometer in diameter, but molecules
that can be manipulated chemically and physically. They open incredible applications in
materials, electronics, chemical processing and energy management.

Basic Structure
Buck tubes are single-wall carbon nanotubes, in
which a single layer of graphite - graphene - is rolled
up into a seamless tube. Graphene consists of a
hexagonal structure like chicken wire. If you imagine
rolling up graphene or chicken wire into a seamless
tube, this can be accomplished in various ways. For
example, carbon-carbon bonds (the wires in chicken
wire) can be parallel or perpendicular to the tube axis,
resulting in a tube where the hexagons circle the tube
like a belt, but are oriented differently. Alternatively, the carbon-carbon bonds need not be
either parallel or perpendicular, in which case the hexagons will spiral around the tube with a
pitch depending on how the tube is wrapped. Above figure illustrates these point.
Carbon nanotubes appear to be sheets of graphite cells that have been mended together to
look almost like a latticework fence and then rolled up in a tube shape. Although this is a simple
explanation for the look of the structure of carbon nanotubes, this is not how carbon nanotubes
are created, nor does it explain their immense strength or other incredible structural abilities.

Page | 10
NANO-RAM

CLASSIFICATION
OF CARBON
NANOTUBES

One of the major

classifications of carbon
nanotubes is into singled-
walled varieties (SWNT’s) which have a single cylinder wall and multi-walled varieties
(MWNT’s) which have cylinders within cylinders.

The length of both type vary greatly, depending upon on the way they are made and
are generally nanoscopic rather than microscopic i.e. greater than 100 micrometers. The
aspect ratio (length divided by diameter) is typically greater than100 and can be up to
10,000, but recently even this was made to look small. IN May 2002, SWNT strand were
made in which the SWNT’s were claimed to be as long as 20 cm. Even more recently, the
same group has made strand of SWNT’s 160cm long, but the precise make up of these
strand has not yet been made clear. A group in china has found, purely by accident that
packs of relatively short carbon nanotubes can be drawn out into a bundle of fibers, making
a thread only 0.2 mm in diameter but up to 30 cm long. The joins between the nanotubes in
this thread represent a weakness but heating the thread has been found to increase the
strength significantly, presumably through some sort of fusing of the individual tubes.

SINGLE-WALLED CARBON NANOTUBES (SWNT’S)

Single-wall nanotubes (SWNT) are tubes of graphite that are normally capped at
the ends. They have a single cylindrical wall. The structure of a SWNT can be visualized
as a layer of graphite, a single atom thick, called graphene, which is rolled into a seamless

Page | 11
NANO-RAM

[Link] SWNT typically have a diameter of

close to 1 nm. The tube length, however, can be
many thousands of times longer.

SWNT are more pliable yet harder to make

than MWNT. They can be twisted, flattened, and
bent into small circles or around sharp bends
without breaking. SWNT have unique electronic
and mechanical properties which can be used in numerous applications, such as field-
emission displays, nanocomposite materials, nanosensors, and logic elements. These
materials are on the leading-edge of electronic fabrication, and are expected to play a
major role in the next generation of miniaturized electronics.
The ability of single-walled carbon nanotubes to bend at the extreme angle
observed in figure 1opened the possibility that the proposed structure of SWNTs was not
accurate since it is suspicious that a cylinder composed of a closed graphitic sheet could
bend that far without visible damage to the tube.
SWNT’s can be conducting like metal or semiconducting and taking into account
their small diameter and their huge aspect ratio, SWNT’s are close to an ideal one
dimensional system. The general composition of SWNT’s

COMPOSITION OF SWNTs
Average outside diameter: 1.1 nm
Length: 5-30 mm
Components Contents (%)
C 96.30
Al 0.08
Cl 0.41
Co 2.91
S 0.29
Analysis Method: Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy

Page | 12
NANO-RAM

MULTI-WALLED CARBON NANOTUBES (MWNT’s)

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes are basically concentric cylindrical

graphite tubes. In these more complex structures, the different
SWNT’s that form the MWNT may have quite different structures
by length and chirality). MWNT’s are typically 100 times longer
than they are wide and have outer diameter mostly in the tens of nanometer. Although it is
easier to produce significant quantities of MWNT’s than SWNTs, their structures are less
well understood than SWNT because of their greater complexity and variety. Multitudes of
exotic shapes and arrangement, often with imaginative names such as bamboo-trunks, sea
urchins etc.

Many of the nanotube application now being considered or put into practice involve
multi-walled nanotubes, because they are easier to produce in large quantities at a
reasonable price and have been available in decent amount for much longer than SWNTs.
They involve typically 8 to 15 walls and around 19 nanometers wide and 10 micrometer
long. Many companies are moving into this space, notably formidable players like Mitsui,
with plans to produce similar types of MWNT in hundred of tons a year, a quantity that is
greater but not hugely so that the current production of Hyperion Catalysis. This is an
indication that even these less impressive and exotic nanotubes hold promise of
representing a sizable market in the near future. The composition of MWNT’s is as shown
in table:

COMPOSITION OF MWNTs

Page | 13
NANO-RAM

Outside diameter: ≤8 nm
Inside diameter: 2-5 nm
Length: 10-30 µm
Components Contents (%)
C 97.44
Al 0.19
Cl 1.03
Co 1.10
S 0.24
Analysis Method: Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy

BENEFITS OF CARBON NANOTUBES

The underlying excitement over CNTs comes from their wide range of behaviors
and properties. By learning about the properties of CNTs, it is possible to imagine
enormous possibilities for their application.
Strength and Elasticity:

CNTs can be really strong. Their tensile strength, a measure of the amount of force
which a specimen can withstand before tearing, is approximately 100 times greater than that
of steel. Strength of CNTs results from the covalent sp² bonds formed between the
individual carbon atoms. This bond is stronger than the sp3 bond in diamonds. CNTs are
held together by Van der Waals forces, forming a rope-like structure [10]. Another reason
why they are so strong is because they are just one large molecule. Unlike other materials,
carbon nanotubes do not have weak-spot, such as steel. CNTs also have a high elastic
modulus, a measure of the material’s tendency to deform elastically when a force is applied
to it.
Electrical and Magnetic:

Metallic-like CNTs are better conductors than metals. The only other materials that
can conduct better than CNTs are superconductors, which theoretically have zero electrical

Page | 14
NANO-RAM

resistance. It has also been observed that, under the influence of a large magnetic field, the
band gap of semi-conducting CNTs can be slightly lowered.
Optical:

A defect-free carbon nanotube is like an optical fiber. Fibers with large cores are
called multi-mode fibers because several wavelengths (or eigenmodes) are allowed to
propagate, usually at different speeds, along the fiber. For data transmission, so-called
single-mode fibers are preferred because they allow for higher data rates. A single-wall
nanotube is almost a single-mode fiber for electrons. Theory predicts the existence of two
propagating eigenmodes for a single-wall nanotube, independent of its diameter.
Chemical:

The chemical reactivity of a CNT is, compared with a graphene sheet, enhanced as a
direct result of the curvature of the CNT surface. Carbon nanotube reactivity is directly
related to the pi-orbital mismatch caused by an increased curvature. Therefore, a distinction
must be made between the sidewall and the end caps of a nanotube. For the same reason, a
smaller nanotube diameter results in increased reactivity. Covalent chemical modification of
either sidewalls or end caps has been shown to be possible

Page | 15
NANO-RAM

CHAPTER 3:: NANO-RAM

STRUCTURE OF NANO-RAM

Nano-RAM is a proprietary computer memory technology from the company

Nantero and NANOMOTOR is invented by University of bologna and California nano
systems. RAM is a type of nonvolatile random access memory based on the mechanical
position of carbon nanotubes deposited on a chip-like substrate. In theory the small size of
the nanotubes allows for very high density memories. Nantero also refers to it as NRAM in
short, but this acronym is also commonly used as a synonym for the more common
NVRAM, which refers to all nonvolatile RAM memories. Nanomotor is a molecular motor
which works continuously without the consumption of fuels. It is powered by sunlight. The
researches are federally funded by national science
foundation and national academy of science.

The design is quite simple. Nanotubes can serve

as individually addressable electromechanical
switches arrayed across the surface of a microchip,
storing hundreds of gigabits of information
may be even a terabit. An electric field applied to
nanotubes would cause it to flex downward
into depression etched onto the chip’s surface, where it
would contact rather another nanotube or touch a
metallic electrode. Once bent, the nanotubes can remain that way, including when the
power is turned off, allowing for non-volatile operation. Vanderwaals forces, which are
weak
molecular forces of attractions, would hold the switch in place until application of fields of
different polarity causes the nanotube to return to its straightened position.

Page | 16
NANO-RAM

This nano electromechanical memory, called NRAM, is a memory with actual

moving parts, with dimensions measured in nanometers. Its carbon nanotube based
technology makes advantage of vaanderwaals force to create basic on off junctions of a bit.
Vaanderwaals forces interaction between atoms
that enable noncovalant binding. They rely on
electron attractions that arise only at nano scale
levels as a force to be reckoned with. The
company is using this property in its design to
integrate nanoscale material property with
established cmos fabrication technique.

Nantero's technology is based on a

well-known effect in carbon nanotubes where crossed nanotubes on a flat surface can either
be touching or slightly separated in the vertical direction (normal to the substrate) due
to Van der Waal's interactions. In Nantero's technology, each NRAM "cell" consists of a
number of nanotubes suspended on insulating "lands" over a metal electrode. At rest the
nanotubes lie above the electrode "in the air", about 13 nm above it in the current versions,
stretched between the two lands. A small dot of gold is deposited on top of the nanotubes on
one of the lands, providing an electrical connection, or terminal. A second electrode lies
below the surface, about 100 nm away.

NRAMs are built by depositing masses of nanotubes on a pre-fabricated chip

containing rows of bar-shaped electrodes with the slightly taller insulating layers between
them. Tubes in the "wrong" location are then removed, and the gold terminals deposited
on top. Any number of methods can be used to select a single cell for writing, for instance
the second set of electrodes can be run in the opposite direction, forming a grid, or they
can be selected by adding voltage to the terminals as well, meaning that only those
selected cells have a total voltage high enough to cause the flip.

Currently the method of removing the unwanted nanotubes makes the system
impractical. The accuracy and size of the epitaxial machinery is considerably "larger" that
the cell size otherwise possible. Existing experimental cells have very low densities

Page | 17
NANO-RAM

compared to existing systems, some new method of construction will have to be

introduced in order to make the system practical.

As we see the structure and the construction of the Nano-Ram, now let study how
the data is being stored in ths Nano-Ram.

STORAGE IN NANO-RAM
Nantero has created multiple prototype devices, including an array of ten billion
suspended nano tube junctions on a single silicon wafer. NRAM technology will achieve
very high memory densities: at least 10-100 times our current best. Nantero's design for
NRAM™ involves the use of suspended nanotube junctions as memory bits, with the "up"
position representing bit zero (Off) and the "down" position representing bit one (On).
Bits are switched between states through the application of
electrical fields. The wafer (A small adhesive disk of paste) was
produced using only standard semiconductor processes, maximizing
compatibility with existing semiconductor factories.

NRAM works by balancing the on ridges of silicon. Under

differing electric charges, the tubes can be physically swung into one
or two positions representing one and zeros. Because the tubes are
very small-under a thousands of time-this movement is very fast and
needs very little power, and because the tubes are a thousand times
conductive as copper it is very to sense to read back the data. Once in
position the tubes stay there until a signal resets them.

The bit itself is not stored in the nano tubes, but rather is stored as the position of the
nanotube. Up is bit 0 and down is bit [Link] are switched between the states by the
application of the electric field.

The technology work by changing the charge placed on a latticework of crossed

nanotube. By altering the charges, engineers can cause the tubes to bind together or
separate, creating ones and zeros that form the basis of computer memory. If we have two

Page | 18
NANO-RAM

nano tubes perpendicular to each other one is positive and other negative, they will bend
together and touch. If we have two similar charges they will repel. These two positions are
used to store one and zero. The chip will stay in the same state until
you make another change in the electric field. So when you turn the
computer off, it doesn't erase the memory .We can keep all the data
in the NRAM and gives your computer an instant boot.

What causes this to act as a memory is that the two positions

of the nanotubes are both stable. In the off position the mechanical
strain on the tubes is low, so they will naturally remain in this
position and continue to read "0". When the tubes are pulled into
contact with the upper electrode a new force, the tiny Van der Waals
force, comes into play and attracts the tubes enough to overcome the
mechanical strain. Once in this position the tubes will again happily
remain there and continue to read "1". These positions are fairly
resistant to outside interference like radiation that can erase or flip memory in a
conventional DRAM.
NRAMs are built by depositing masses of nanotubes on a pre-fabricated chip
containing rows of bar-shaped electrodes with the slightly taller insulating layers between
them. Tubes in the "wrong" location are then removed, and the gold terminals deposited on
top. Any number of methods can be used to select a single cell for writing, for instance the
second set of electrodes
can be run in the opposite direction, forming a grid, or they can be selected by adding
voltage to
the terminals as well, meaning that only those selected cells have a total voltage high
enough to
cause the flip.

Page | 19
NANO-RAM

ADVANTAGES OF NANO-RAM

 Permanently nonvolatile

 High speed similar to DRAM/SRAM

 High density similar to DRAM

 Unlimited lifetime

 Low power consumption

 Data storage

 CMOS-compatible manufacturing process

Page | 20
NANO-RAM

APPLICATIONS AND LIMITATIONS

APPLICATIONS:

 Computer and Laptops

 (Enabling instant –on performance, with no for boot up)
 Mobile devices
 (Faster storage of more data for PDA’s and handhelds)
 Embedded memory
 (More powerful microprocessor, microcontroller, other logic device)
 High speed network serve
 Faster and Denser

LIMITATIONS:

 Over supply of DRAM

 Is relatively costly
 NRAM is still in research phase

Page | 21
NANO-RAM

CONCLUSION

This paper gives an over-view of application of nanotechnology in field of electronics.

Moore’s law has held true for almost 40 years now, but the current lithographic technology
has physical limits when it comes to making things smaller and the semiconductor industry
which often refers to the collection of these as the “red brick wall” thinks that the wall will
be hit in around fifteen years. At the point a new technology will have to take over and
nanotechnology offers a variety of potentially viable options and carbon nanotube are one
of the most commonly mentioned building blocks of [Link] could say that the
prospects of nanotechnology are very [Link] will be an undeniable force in
near future. Beginning &usage of NRAM will give rise to instant ON computers.
Nonvolatile memories will enable instant booting of computers. Large memories can be
building with nanotube technology. Nonvolatile memories offer much better performance
combined with data storage when the power is turned OFF.

Page | 22
NANO-RAM

REFERENCES

 Carbon Nanotube–Based Nonvolatile Random Access Memory for Molecular

Computing: Thomas Rueckes, Kyoungha Kim, Ernesto Joselevich, Greg Y. Tseng,
Chin-Li Cheung, Charles M. Lieber

 Nano Engineered Memory solutions-IEEE journal.

 [Link]/[Link]

 10 Emerging technologies – MIT technology review

 [Link]/ma/enwiki/en/Nano-RAM

Page | 23