Super-Secure, Self-Erasing Memory Chip

Electrical engineering researchers at the University of Michigan  report that new self-erasing chips could help stop counterfeit electronics or provide alerts if sensitive shipments are tampered with. The chips use a new material that temporarily stores energy, changing the color of the light it emits. It self-erases in a seven days, or users can erase it on demand with a flash of blue light. The self-erasing chips are built from a three-atom-thick layer of semiconductor laid on top of a thin film of molecules based on azobenzenes. This kind of molecule shrinks in reaction to UV light. Those molecules tug on the semiconductor in turn, causing it to emit slightly longer wavelengths of light.

Transcript

00:00:00 [Music] when these molecules stretch and relax their optical properties can change its self-powered self-erasable memory university of michigan researchers have developed a new material in order to create a temporary memory device that gets immediately erased when exposed to blue light

00:00:21 this technology could be used to create a security barcode that could be placed inside of sensitive shipments to alert recipients to any tampering the system actually will erase the information if it gets exposed to light or sudden change in heat so now you know that look this thing was open i don't know exactly which part was replaced but at least i know

00:00:40 this thing was open the material combines a semiconductor with a thin film of molecules that change shape in reaction to certain types of light this allows the researchers to store information in the material temporarily currently information can only be stored for about seven days before it erases itself but the team is

00:00:59 working on ways to extend their longevity of the memory [Music] you