Details of an entirely new kind of electronic device, which could make chips smaller and far more efficient, have been outlined by Hewlett-Packard’s scientists. The new components are known as "memristors". The devices were proposed 40 years ago but have only recently been fabricated.

They have already been used to build novel transistors - tiny switches that are the building blocks of all chips. Memristors were first proposed in 1971 by Professor Leon Chua, a scientist at the University of California, Berkeley. They are the "fourth" basic building block of circuits, after capacitors, resistors and inductors.

Professor Chua says: "I never thought I'd live long enough to see this happen. I'm thrilled because it's almost like vindication. Something I did is not just in my imagination, it's fundamental."

The memristors are so called because they have the ability to "remember" the amount of charge that has flowed through them after the power has been switched off. This could allow researchers to build new kinds of computer memory that would not require powering up.

Most PCs use dynamic random access memory (DRAM) which loses data when the power is turned off.But a computer built with memristors could allow PCs that start up instantly, laptops that retain sessions after the battery dies, or mobile phones that can last for weeks without needing a charge.

Reference:

http://www.hpl.hp.com/news/2008/apr-jun/memristor.html