Fudan researchers demonstrate 2D memory chip storing data on single electron
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Fudan University engineers demonstrate a 2D flash memory chip that stores data on a single trapped electron at room temperature. The device, named Guiyi, produced a 0.5-volt signal, 10 times stronger than earlier single-electron attempts, according to a study published July 16 in Science. The advance comes even as AI-era workloads raise demands for faster, lower-power storage.
The Guiyi Chip
Fudan University engineers described the device in a paper published July 16 in Science. The 2D flash memory chip traps a single electron in a floating gate at room temperature, storing one bit even after power is switched off. The team named it Guiyi, meaning "return to one" in Chinese Buddhism, a nod to the theoretical minimum for one bit. The South China Morning Post compared the single-electron storage goal to a "holy grail for the semiconductor industry."
Signal Strength
Earlier single-electron storage attempts in the late 1990s produced signals too faint to read, like detecting a ripple from a single raindrop falling into a reservoir. To amplify the signal, researchers added a graphene layer before the floating gate, allowing electrons to move through its single-atom hexagonal lattice at high speed with minimal energy loss. The trapped electron then produced a 0.5-volt electrical pulse, 10 times stronger than previous attempts. Study co-author Chunsen Liu, an engineer at Fudan University, said storing one bit by changing a single electron's state would reduce power consumption.
AI-Era Storage Demand
Liu told state-owned China Daily that demands for storage speed, capacity, energy efficiency and stability have reached a new level in the AI era. A single-electron storage cell would reduce data transfer delays between computing and storage units and improve computing efficiency. The researchers argue the technology could expand AI applications across industries. The room-temperature demonstration reduces the energy needed for data processing and points to much larger storage capacity, according to the study.
What's Next
The study does not specify when Guiyi might move from demonstration to commercial chips, and the researchers gave no manufacturing timeline. It remains unclear whether the 0.5-volt signal can be maintained across dense memory arrays and full production lines.
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Fudan researchers demonstrate 2D memory chip storing data on single electron
