A researcher at North Carolina State University has developed a computer chip that can store an unprecedented¹（空前的） amount of data – enough to hold an entire library's worth of information on a single chip. The new chip stems from（源于） a breakthrough in the use of nanodots（纳米点） , or nanoscale magnets, and represents a significant advance in computer-memory technology. "We have created magnetic nanodots that store one bit of information on each nanodot, allowing us to store over one billion pages of information in a chip that is one square inch," says Dr. Jay Narayan, the John C. Fan Distinguished² Chair Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at NC State and author of the research.

The breakthrough is that these nanodots are made of single, defect-free crystals（石英晶体，水晶） , creating magnetic sensors³ that are integrated（集成的，整合的） directly into a silicon⁴ electronic chip. These nanodots, which can be made uniformly as small as six nanometers in diameter（直径） , are all precisely⁵ oriented in the same way – allowing programmers to reliably read and write data to the chips.

The chips themselves can be manufactured cost-effectively（节约成本地） , but the next step is to develop magnetic packaging that will enable users to take advantage of the chips – using something, such as laser technology, that can effectively interact with the nanodots.