S. Korean, U.S. researchers develop tera-level memory technology

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korean and U.S. scientists said Friday they have
developed a revolutionary memory storage technology that can enable 12,500
full-length films to be placed on a single digital video disc (DVD).

Tera-level storage is a 10,000-fold improvement over existing technologies and
could change the way hard drives, memory sticks, CD-ROMs and other information
technology equipment is used in the future, Park Soo-jin, a professor at the
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, said.
At present, a DVD usually stores 1 gigabit of memory and can show a single
high-definition film.
Park, a professor of nano-biotechnology and chemical engineering, conducted the
research with two U.S. professors -- Thomas P. Russell at the University of
Massachusetts and Ting Xu at the University of California, Berkeley.
The latest breakthrough was made possible by employing an ultra high-tech
"pattering technology" that allows 10 terabits -- equivalent to 1,000 gigabits --
of memory to be placed on 1 inch of electronic storage surface, Park said.
"This means that the distance between each memory-capable bit has been reduced to
7 nanometers from a minimum of 50," the expert said. A nanometer is equivalent to
one-billionth of a meter.
The joint research was published in the latest Internet issue of the U.S. journal
"Science" on the same day.
Besides the main authors, three South Korean students and a professor at Seoul's
Yonsei University contributed to the research.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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