Memory for the ages: radiation-resistant flash drives will help create supercomputers in space

Russian scientists have proposed a technology for creating flash memory chips that are resistant to cosmic radiation. It is based on special films with defects—"traps" that trap electrons. The charge accumulated in this way allows you to store information. In the future, such devices can be used in orbital data centers, spacecraft with a nuclear power source and nuclear power plants on other planets. The development also opens up opportunities for building supercomputers in space. According to experts, Russian scientists have serious achievements in the field of next-generation memory chips. However, their mass production requires investments in factories, equipment, materials, and specialist training.

New flash memory technologies

Scientists from the A.V. Rzhanov Institute of Semiconductor Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences have proposed a technology that will help create long-term flash memory chips that are resistant to cosmic radiation. Such devices, in particular, can be useful for the development of orbital data centers - complexes for storing and processing data in space. The research is supported by the Russian Science Foundation.

— Classic flash memory is based on silicon transistors with a floating gate. Later, solutions appeared that use traps, which are special structural defects in dielectric films of silicon nitride. They can capture electrons and keep them stationary. The lifetime of such electrons at room temperature is hundreds of years. This allows you to store information for a very long time in the form of a charge accumulated on traps," Vladimir Gritsenko, Doctor of Physico—Mathematical Sciences, Chief Researcher at the Institute of Physics and Technology of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia.

Flash memory devices using such films have been proposed and patented at the Institute of Semiconductor Physics, the scientist said. Developing this technology, the institute's specialists proposed using films made of materials with high dielectric permittivity, such as aluminum or zirconium oxides, in memory devices. This solution has also been patented. According to the researchers, such materials can increase the storage life of information and reduce energy consumption when overwriting data, which means saving the device's battery power.

— The innovation also dramatically increases the reliability of the devices. In particular, they become resistant to radiation. This advantage is important for satellites and other space technology that operates in conditions of intense ionizing radiation," the researcher noted.

Radiation-resistant chips in space

According to Vladimir Gritsenko, one of the promising applications of long-lasting, non-volatile and radiation—resistant flash memory is orbital data centers and supercomputers. Modern satellites collect huge amounts of information, and transmitting all this data to Earth requires time and resources. Some of the information could be stored and processed directly in space using powerful computing systems. A new development can become one of the elements of such systems.

According to the expert, in the future, radiation-resistant flash memory will also find application in systems with a nuclear reactor as an energy source. In particular, in nuclear-powered spacecraft or nuclear power plants for other planets.

"However, in addition to memory devices that can withstand ionizing radiation in space, attention should be paid to the development of processors with similar reliability. At the moment, this is the weak point of such systems," said Vladimir Gritsenko.

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Development may become an important component of the devices of the future

At the same time, the institute is conducting research on the creation of information carriers based on new physical principles, the scientist said. They do not use charged traps for data storage, but the effect of atomic displacement, which changes either the resistance or the polarization of the storage medium. Such devices will be millions of times faster than modern chips and provide trillions of rewrite cycles.

Such developments can be an important step towards creating universal memory. We are talking about a technology that will combine the functions of RAM for computing and long-term memory for data storage in one device.

New factories and materials for microelectronics

— Memory devices are an important component of electronic devices. The characteristics of the equipment as a whole depend on their parameters. The world is conducting research aimed at finding new structures and materials that can improve memory parameters. A breakthrough in these areas will open up a lot of opportunities, from improving productivity, for example, AI systems to data centers in orbit," Yuri Kovalevsky, deputy editor—in-chief of Electronics: NTB magazine, told Izvestia.

However, a scientific breakthrough alone is not enough, he added. Whether the development "takes off" or not depends on engineers, manufacturers and investors. Often, not the best solutions became successful simply because they were turned into a real product faster.

It is difficult to say in advance which of the developments will become the leading technology. Therefore, it is important to participate in the search process in order not to miss the chance to fit into the future landscape of solutions in one of the key areas of electronics.

— Computing services in orbit is a new infrastructure ideology. Their value lies in creating a space—based "cloud layer" that will solve problems inaccessible to traditional ground-based systems. For example, it will ensure the autonomy of long—range missions, allow real-time data processing in space and reduce the load on communication channels," explained Dmitry Temnov, Acting head of the Department of General and Experimental Physics at the Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University.

In his opinion, Russian specialists do not compete in the mass production of standard flash memory products, where Asian companies dominate. However, there are a number of strong domestic achievements in next-generation technologies. For example, Russian scientists have achieved record laboratory performance in terms of rewriting resources and made pioneering discoveries in the field of new materials (for example, memristors on glass). Competencies in the creation of radiation-resistant electronics are also traditionally strong.

In order to launch the production of flash memory chips in the country, investments are needed in the construction and modernization of factories. We also need our own lithographic equipment for standards from 65 nm and below, ultrapure gases, chemicals and other materials for the production of semiconductors. Investments in specialist training and long-term government support for the industry are equally important, the expert noted.