Paragraf funded to develop graphene-ferroelectric memory
Paragraf Ltd. (Cambridge, England) has been awarded a grant as part of a £1 million UK project to develop a non-volatile memory device using ferroelectric materials incorporating graphene.
Paragraf, a graphene pioneer has developed magnetic sensors based on graphene and has been awarded nearly £420,000 by the Innovate UK agency to work with Professor Judith Driscoll’s research group at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy.
The university research team is chartered with developing processes for depositing ferroelectric materials on top of Paragraf’s transfer-free graphene in order to produce novel memory devices, including a graphene-ferroelectric field effect transistor (G-FeFET). Such a G-FeFET memory could reduce power consumption by about a factor of 10 compared with existing memory device technology, Paragraf said in a statement.
The team are tasked with producing a proof-of-concept prototype device. No timetable has been given for the project or at what device dimensions the team would be working. While a proof-of-concept is an essential first step in development the ability to scale any novel semiconductor technology down to nanometer dimensions is also key commercial deployment.
Professor Driscoll and her group have published several papers on ferroelectricity in thin films and their applications to memory devices in recent years. These have explored intrinsic polar states, oxygen vacancy behaviour, and novel methods for achieving ferroelectric phases in materials such as those based on zirconium oxide and hafnium oxide.
“The future of computing and fields such as AI will require storage solutions that conserve energy and reduce heat output. Graphene is uniquely positioned to fulfil those requirements, so the development of these devices, created alongside Professor Driscoll’s talented team of scientists, is key,” said Simon Thomas, CEO of Paragraf, in a statement.
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