Information storage and retrieval in a single levitating colloidal particle.
The binary switch is a basic component of digital information. From phase-change alloys to nanomechanical beams, molecules and atoms, new strategies for controlled bistability hold great interest for emerging technologies. We present a generic methodology for precise and parallel spatiotemporal control of nanometre-scale matter in a fluid, and demonstrate the ability to attain digital functionalities such as switching, gating and data storage in a single colloid, with further implications for signal amplification and logic operations. This fluid-phase bit can be arrayed at high densities, manipulated by either electrical or optical fields, supports low-energy, high-speed operation and marks a first step toward 'colloidal information'. The principle generalizes to any system where spatial perturbation of a particle elicits a differential response amenable to readout.
Department of Chemistry, Winterthurerstrasse 190, University of Zurich, CH 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Christopher J
CJ
Myers
Department of Physics, Piazza Leonardo Da Vinci 32, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy.
Michele
M
Celebrano
Department of Chemistry, Winterthurerstrasse 190, University of Zurich, CH 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.|Department of Physics, Winterthurerstrasse 190, University of Zurich, CH 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Madhavi
M
Krishnan