Ultra-dense memory: Atom scale material dynamics and system consequences

Enabling ultra-dense memory by controlling atomic-scale switching in emerging ferroelectric, spin and optically addressed materials — and translating that physics into system-level performance gains for faster, lower-power, higher-capacity computing.

Ultra-dense memory (UDM) is a project within the Extreme Lithography & Materials Innovation Center (ELMIC), a DOE Office of Science Microelectronics Science Research Center (MSRC). This project is focused on precise, atomic-scale control of dynamic behavior in three classes of nanostructured materials that can collectively revolutionize memory: scale-free ferroelectrics, spin memories (on-chip) and a new optically addressed atomic memory (off-chip). These memories have the potential for improved speed, power and density. While the former two can replace on-chip SRAM or off-chip DRAM, the latter will be used as high-density storage memory. Their place in the chip-memory hierarchy is the subject of a cross-cutting project that deals with the fully automatic AI-assisted design of hardware accelerators for scientific applications. The research will unveil the underlying science to establish this control over materials processes and quantifying system impact. Two cross-cutting projects will address the architecture implications of these memories and the characterization of the new materials and operating modes. Large-scale models of computational physics will be used to gain further insight into the switching behavior of these memory elements.

UDM is leveraging the computational resources of the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF), including leadership-class supercomputers (e.g., the exascale Aurora system), AI Testbed, visualization clusters, advanced data storage systems and high-performance networking capabilities. Electron microscopy facilities at Argonne’s Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM) and coherent X-ray beamlines at the upgraded Advanced Photon Source (APS) will be used for nanoscale imaging and structural characterization of material and device dynamics.