The Future of Nanodot Hard Drives, Essay Example

Back ground and introduction

The idea of nanotechnology first emerged in the year 1986; this is when the first organization thought of educating the people about nanotechnology. At this time in life people were educated the importance risks faced in using nanotechnology. As we speak now, there are a lot of researches being done in relation to nanotechnology. Most scientists want to discover more of what occurs in the molecular world. The computer experts are not left out and thus have been doing a lot to use this technology to solve some problems faced by computer users and rather make life simple for computer users. It is evident that now the nanotechnology has taken many scientist with storm and that many radical change in technology are expected in the coming decades but the soon is going to happen is not known.

Nanodot as part of technology entails away of storing information that will be a thing of the future. This technology now is able to store hundred times more data than the current hard drives are able to. These nanodots are billions of small magnets that are able to change their polarity to symbolize a binary piece of data. Its evident the desire of people for data is increasing than before in fact its doubling each year.

For this reason the scientist and researchers are not sleeping at all but doing a lot to make sure they unearth solutions to computer users. Researchers working at the National Institute of Standards together with those from University of Arizona have invented nanodots that can respond to magnetic having record levels of uniformity. The nanodots may be the origin of what in the future will nanodots drives which will be able to store 100 times more data than the hard disks in use today.

Potential benefits of the nanodot drives

One major advantage of this technology is the fact that it’s easily assimilated. Any new technology that rethinks like the current computers will be a failure and will not find it easy in the current market. But a technology easily assimilated like this one will be like a victory to the technology world. Another advantage of this technology is its ability to store a lot of data as discussed earlier on in the introduction and this is the major reason why this technology is being studied. Still yet to be solved in this technology is the on how to overcome the problem of how to cool nickel for it act as a good magnetic memory (Deborah, 2004). Thus we have to see how to either replace it for good results. Al in all the technology is still implementable and surely workable.

It is feasible to organize the dots in 3D inside the substrate; and people working on this technology have observed that the nanodots can be organized in a manner that is uniform inside the crystalline structure of tin titanium and nitrate. Theoretically this makes the crystal lattice of a molecule strong and probably leading to making of a novel which are extremely strong material.

Understanding nanodot hard drives

As we all know it’s the desire of each scientist to develop into the extra-small world. Being familiar with exist on 45nm process technology for fabrication the current microprocessor which is the smallest for production may be very small but still has a lot of scores of atomic layer thick. How will this then sound to the consumers? To storage apparatus that can alter its state 1000s quicker than the current hard drives and has the tiniest components that include just a few atoms. Many people will die for this because this is a technology world anyway. One will only need a monobubble nanodot.

Monobubble that are on research now are small groups of Iron Platinum atoms. They have shown very fascinating magnetic features that made one scientist to say that they are cylindrical areas of magnetization that is not parallel to its environment and perpendicular to the nanodot. This bi-domain has been given the name monobubble state. Monobubble entails a tri-state field of magnetism and it also shows fascinating magnetic features that are still being studied (Deborah, 2004). One of the scientists Moutafis clarified that the state of magnetism reacted it a specific way when incited.

Thus it’s similar to the huge magneto resistance occurrence, or GMR; this is reason why it’s possible for high-density hard drives to function. When a current or field is applied inside the nanodot gadget, the probe got significant alterations in observable data based on monobubble’s different states (Larry, 2003). This monobubble is the one that is the same to GMR. Like a magnetic bar the nanodot has a north and South Pole and the moves front and backward when a strong magnetic field is introduced. When the nanodot is very small, then the amount of magnetic field needed for it to switch is very high. Up to now the scientist are not able to know well and manage a wide deviation in nanodot switching reaction.
The variation was reduced considerably by the NIST to less than 5% of the average switching field. They have also managed to single out what is thought the main reason of variability; that is the model of many layers of film that act as nanodots commencing material. By utilizing electron beam lithography to pattern multilayer thin films, nanodots tiny with a width of 50 nanometers were made. When assembling a multilayer film that has changing sheet of palladium on a silicon wafer and cobalt the solution was to first lay down a tantalum “seed layer” which have a thickness of only a few nanometers. The layer of seed can change the strain, direction or texture of the film.

Through constructing and putting into comparison varied multilayer stacks, scientist doing research could separate the effects of the variable multilayer stacks brand. Factors like lithographic variations, crystal grain boundaries or the shape of the nanodots that were thought to be very critical were also able to be removed by the researchers (Ron, 2007). Nickel’s nanoscopic dot that is able to store terabytes of data in a chip of a computer that has a width of only few centimeters was made researchers. In each nanodot there is a distinct ball that has many atoms of Nickel and occurs in the two types of magnetic states.

Thus, one bit of information can be stored as either a ‘1’ or ‘o’ by them. Information for a usual computer which has a hard drive is kept in magnetic material-coated disk, while the bits should be put apart enough for them not to mess with the other. On the side in nanodots, the bits are able to be grouped very close as one because the dots are separate units which are not connected by structure. There is scientist from North Carolina University have already managed to make Nickel nanodots that has a diameter of around 5nm; this has been 10 lessened from the one that was produced before.

Still more research to be done

Before, in order to heat Nickel, researcher could utilize a pulsed laser up to when they change into plasma which is an amorphous state of matter that has atoms with positive and negative charges. In an amorphous state, nickel can reorganize itself into aluminum oxide and tin titanium nitrate as uniform dots; the two are varied substrates. In theory, when the dots set themselves in at this density then they are able to store data in terabytes up to 5000 gigabytes into a computer at approximately the size of the stamp used in posting letters (Fogg,2002). The thing to be done is to try and put together the nanodots and chips of silicon. That is one of the things still to be studied, understood and put into practice; this leaves questions to be answered by the researchers and others interested in the nanodots technology.

There are people who are taking a lot of caution when it comes to the studying and researching the technology behind nanodots. They argue that even thought it may sound as an exciting thing, there is a lot still done be proven for it to be able implemented because at the moment its not able to put the dots together in the right manner on a surface so that we may use as memory (Larry,2003). Even we haven’t reached that level; it is still possible to make 5 nanometer dots. We still have a long way to go before to get the intended end product thus the research will not stop but has to continue until discoveries enough to make the plan implemented are reached. We may not despair because it is still possible for this research going on to produce the result that is applicable. Never the less it gives us a tour into the uber-small thus we realize that effects in the like of GMR are still possible.

For example, some 20 years ago if you had told somebody that there will be a time when a 500 GB disk will go for $ 100 and able to be carried in the pocket, no one would have believed it. The technology of nanodots has the capability of doing the same if we give it 20 more years. And to the children of that generation, it will sound outrageous that at some time in history HD movies could be stored on different discs.

Self-assembling of novel nanodots

Researchers have used pulsed lasers to persuade make nickel metal to assemble itself into arrays of nanodots with each spot being only seven nanometers across; this is one-tenth the diameter of nanodots of nickel and on the same level with smallest in the world (Ron,2007). This technique is possible with different materials and can severely lower imperfections; research into very hard materials and attempts to invent an ultra-dense computer memory may be encouraged by a new procedure.

Those in research are collaborating with an industry in order to affect the procedure to development of (LED) light-emitting diodes of the coming generation; those bright and small lights seen in traffic light and lavish vehicle brake lights. Even though these LEDs are only for test, they have proved to be efficient than the devices that are there at the moment, can last for decades and use lesser power compared to the fluorescent bulbs.

Applications for computer have along way before taking effect; this because there are a lot of obstacles they face before they can become real chips. If each nickel-metal nanodot is able to store one bit of information, scientist have faith that using the nanodot technology, a chip, of an inch will later have the capability of storing data of 10 terabytes (Fogg,2002). Researchers feel that theoretically, the chip will posses the ability of storing several hundred times more data than normal microchips of the similar size. Coincidentally, a nickel may accommodate five terabytes. If the dream of nanodot come true and we get nanodot memory chips, everything in the Library of Congress could be carried in a pocket full of “change”.

What the researcher actually thinks on the technology

One research from North Carolina State University was once quoted saying that even though the greatest test is to make in a reliable and efficient manner a nanostructure using nanounits. He goes ahead and says that nature does not like tom make very minute thing that are uniform thus this remains as a challenge to scientists. They complain that in this technology, there is need for a regulated processing and self-assembly in 3D as it’s not possible to make these structures then put them together. The researchers clarify that because these structures are very tiny, and in order to put the technology into use, there must be self-assembly and it’s mandatory for it to be 3D. These were the thoughts of one scientist Jagdish “Jay” Naravan a researcher at North Carolina State University.

Nanotechnology will be in 20

When the idea of nanotechnology was invented some time ago, the basic thing the people with the idea in mind was to make machine at an atomic scale and it’s important that people and other technologies take advantage of this technology. The reality of this technology is shaping differently from the vision at that time and this is where the utilization in computer technology comes up. The past two computer generations had processors that have been flat-out nanotechnology. The computers been so much bulky because of the bulk involved in storage of data in a computer but as time we realize that computer will need small space and we realize that moving around with information will be easy and even more secure because carrying information of terabytes and gigabytes in a pocket fitting device will be very convenient to many.

Managers of companies will walk with data of there companies and monitor any department of there company without the need of the secretary’s assistance. On the negative side with a lot of information stored in such a small gadget it means that more important information will be lost easily and the expense of the person carrying it. Also being a small gadget, many will use it as a way of getting a lot and important information from big companies, security agencies and even the government if no security measures are put in place

References

B.J. Fogg (2002). Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do. Morgan Kaufmann

Deborah Morley (2004). Computers and Technology in a Changing Society. Course Technology

Larry Long (2003). Computers: Information Technology in Perspective. London: Prentice Hall

Ron White (2007). How Computers Work. New York: Touchstone