HP shows off first hybrid memristor-transistor chip

HP broke some considerable new ground by creating the very first "memristor" earlier this year, but it looks like it didn't rest on its laurels for very long, as it has now also taken the wraps off the first hybrid memristor-transistor chip at (where else?) the inaugural Memristor and Memristor Systems Symposium. According to the researchers at HP Labs, the memristors are able to do the job of the transistors they replace more efficiently, letting you use less of them when space is a priority, or the same amount or, conceivably, more of 'em to get some increased performance, which the researchers say could "give Moore's Law a boost." As if that wasn't enough, the researchers also say that memristors could also allow for faster, smaller, and more energy-efficient flash storage, and allow for field-programmable gate array (or FPGAs) that are not only more efficient, but considerably less expensive as well.

Of course, there's plenty more experimenting that needs to be done, but HP says that the first commercial circuits using memristors could arrive within the next three years.