Researchers at Penn State University have built a working memory device that combines synthetic DNA with a crystalline perovskite semiconductor, cutting power consumption by roughly 100 times compared to conventional storage while offering higher capacity.
The memristor operates on less than 0.1 volts, a tiny fraction of the 120V found in a standard US outlet, and stayed stable at temperatures approaching 250°F and functional at room temperature for over six weeks. DNA's information density is staggering: about 215 million gigabytes can theoretically be stored in a single gram. "Usually, it takes more power to store more information. Our device consumes 100 times less power and storage capacity is higher than traditional storage devices," said Penn State research professor Bed Poudel.
The team, which includes postdoctoral researcher Kavya S. Keremane and research professor Neela H. Yennawar, computationally designed short synthetic DNA sequences engineered for specific electronic functions and paired them with the perovskite material already used in solar cells and lasers. The researchers see the biology-electronics hybrid as a path toward far more energy-efficient neuromorphic computing and AI data centers, where power draw has become one of the industry's biggest bottlenecks.