Leeds scientists advance 'racetrack' memory technology
Dienstag, 7 April 2009
Leeds scientists have made advances in computer technology that could make data loss through crashed hard drives a thing of the past.
Physicists from Leeds, together with scientists at IBM Research's Zurich lab have been working on 'racetrack' memory, which is said could become a feature of all modern computers.
The technology does away with traditional hard disc memory, in which magnetised atoms facing one direction or the other are located by a 'head', analogous to a record player.
In racetrack memory, it is the information itself which moves, with scientists using a kind of physics called spin transfer.
Commenting on their findings, Dr Chris Marrows, reader in condensed matter physics at the University of Leeds, explained why it represented a breakthrough.
"The reason why the hard disk on your computer is likely to break is because it has moving parts which eventually wear out but the racetrack method of storing information is much more reliable as all the parts are static," he said.
Leeds' physics department is one of the top five in the country, according to both the Guardian and the Times university league table.
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