One of the problems with flash memory is that it is sensitive to defects. To solve this problem, researchers from Samsung Electronics are developing flash devices based on graphene quantum dots (GQDs). The performance of such a device is promising, with an electron density that is comparable to semiconductor and metal nanocrystal based memories. Those flash memory can also be made flexible and transparent.
The researchers used GQDs in three different sizes (6, 12, and 27 nm) between silicon dioxide layers. The memory of the QDs depend on their sizes: the 12 nm dot for example offers the highest program speed while the 27 nm dot has the highest erase speed, and is also the most stable. Samsung says that this is the first GQD demonstration in a practical device.