Issued: Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:42:00 BST
A breakthrough by scientists from the University of Glasgow could see the storage capacity of an iPod increase 150,000 times.
Nanotechnology researchers have developed a molecule-sized switch which means that data storage can be dramatically increased without the need to increase the size of devices.
Professor Lee Cronin and Dr Malcolm Kadodwala’s work would see 500,000 gigabytes squeezed onto one square inch. The current limit for the space is around 3.3 gigabytes.
The researchers believe that their development could see the number of transistors per chip rising from today’s limit of 200million to well over one billion.
Professor Lee Cronin said: “What we have done is find a way to potentially increase the data storage capabilities in a radical way.
“We have been able to assemble a functional nanocluster that incorporates two electron donating groups, and position them precisely 0.32 nm apart so that they can form a totally new type of molecular switching device.
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