UK brains deliver 8-fold increase in data processing speeds

From the boffins who crammed 10.8TB of data on a PC card

By Lucy Sherriff • Get more from this author

Posted in Business, 13th October 2000 15:24 GMT

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The clever people responsible for the super-high-capacity solid-state storage breakthroughs, from Keele University, have discovered that the same technology will actually speed up processing time by a factor of eight.

Researchers at the University discovered a "three-dimensional" memory system which they reckon can cram 10.8TB on to a PC card sized device.

Now the technology can be used to increase bandwidth capacity, as explained in a statement issued by the company handling the commercial aspects of the new science: "The very high data density properties allow so much more data to be transmitted over a given bandwidth. The same advantages are also felt in terms of processing speeds."

The net result is that, according to researchers' current calculations data can be processed eight times faster than it is using conventional technology. Work is continuing at the university to investigate the properties of the new technology even further.

Now that the patenting process has been completed the researchers are looking to license the technology to companies for mass-production, and for the ongoing R&D work needed to make the 'solid-state' memory commercially viable. The group has formed a company called Keele High Density to sell the fruits of their labour.

Professor Ted Williams at Keele University, Staffordshire, England, has spent 13 years developing the technology. ®