Fudan researchers demonstrate 2D memory chip storing data on single electron

August 13, 2026 at 03:00 PM2 min

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Fudan University engineers demonstrate a 2D flash memory chip that stores data on a single trapped electron at room temperature. The device, named Guiyi, produced a 0.5-volt signal, 10 times stronger than earlier single-electron attempts, according to a study published July 16 in Science. The advance comes even as AI-era workloads raise demands for faster, lower-power storage.

The Guiyi Chip

Fudan University engineers described the device in a paper published July 16 in Science. The 2D flash memory chip traps a single electron in a floating gate at room temperature, storing one bit even after power is switched off. The team named it Guiyi, meaning "return to one" in Chinese Buddhism, a nod to the theoretical minimum for one bit. The South China Morning Post compared the single-electron storage goal to a "holy grail for the semiconductor industry."

Signal Strength

Earlier single-electron storage attempts in the late 1990s produced signals too faint to read, like detecting a ripple from a single raindrop falling into a reservoir. To amplify the signal, researchers added a graphene layer before the floating gate, allowing electrons to move through its single-atom hexagonal lattice at high speed with minimal energy loss. The trapped electron then produced a 0.5-volt electrical pulse, 10 times stronger than previous attempts. Study co-author Chunsen Liu, an engineer at Fudan University, said storing one bit by changing a single electron's state would reduce power consumption.

AI-Era Storage Demand

Liu told state-owned China Daily that demands for storage speed, capacity, energy efficiency and stability have reached a new level in the AI era. A single-electron storage cell would reduce data transfer delays between computing and storage units and improve computing efficiency. The researchers argue the technology could expand AI applications across industries. The room-temperature demonstration reduces the energy needed for data processing and points to much larger storage capacity, according to the study.