A researcher at North Carolina State University has developed a computer chip that can store an unprecedented（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 Distinguished 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 sensors that are integrated（集成的，整合的） directly into a silicon electronic chip. These nanodots, which can be made uniformly as small as six nanometers in diameter（直径） , are all precisely 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.