University of Cambridge scientists have created a new type of microchip that allows information to travel in three dimensions, enabling additional storage capacity on chips.
Currently, microchips can only pass digital information in a very limited way — from either left to right or front to back, the researchers say.
In the future, a 3D microchip would enable additional storage capacity on chips by allowing information to be spread across several layers instead of being compacted into one layer, as is currently the case.
For the research, the Cambridge scientists used a special type of microchip called a spintronic (spin transport electronic) chip, which exploits the electron’s tiny magnetic moment or spin (unlike most of today’s chips, which use charge-based electronic technology). Spintronic chips are increasingly being used in computers, and it is widely believed that within the next few years they will become the standard memory chip.