Future devices could hold more data in far less space, thanks to new molecular tech

A team of researchers at the Institute of Science Tokyo has created a new material that can leverage molecular rotors to store information, a breakthrough in microelectronics. This achievement — detailed in the Journal of the American Chemical Society — could lay the foundation for a generation of non-volatile memories (such as ROMs) that store data at a much higher density than is possible with current semiconductor technologies.

This platform uses tiny molecules known as “molecular rotors” that can be flipped in different directions to represent bits of data. Scientists have been trying for long to create something like this, but they have been faced with the challenge of meeting four critical requirements at once.

• The rotors must be controllable with an electric field
• They must hold their position at room temperature for long-term data storage
• They must have enough empty space around them to physically spin without getting stuck
• They must be able to endure temperatures up to 150 °C

The research team — led by Professor Yoichi Murakami — solved this problem by designing a Covalent Organic Framework (COF) with an ultra-low-density crystal structure. This unique structure, which has never been documented before in COFs, creates the space needed for the molecular rotors to flip freely when an electric field is applied, while also remaining stable at ambient temperatures.

This is a breakthrough, because our COFs are a rare solid in which dipolar rotors can flip when they are brought to elevated temperatures above 200 °C or undergo sufficiently strong electric fields, but their orientations can be held for a long time at ambient temperatures. — Professor Yoichi Murakami.

The researchers also reported the material to have thermal durability close to 400 °C. While the application of this technology in consumer devices is projected to be many years away, it has forged a path for others to follow. One day, we could have digital storage devices with much higher density than those we have today, allowing for more data in less space.