Researchers indicate how 2D nanofluidic channels can carry out nonlinear conduction functions similar to memory-effect transistors.
Computer networks communicate with each other using electrical conduction, which leads to energy consumption in large networks. Researchers at Sorbonne Université have developed a way to show 2D nanofluidic channels carrying out nonlinear conduction functions as memory-effect transistors, using theory and simulations.
 For finding an efficient alternative to electrical conduction in computer networks, they turned their attention towards biological systems and the way they communicate, especially the neurons in the brain. They found out that communication in biological systems is based on ions and chemicals moving through aqueous solutions.
Their work was published in the journal Science. In their work, the team describes their work with aqueous electrolytes confined in a two-dimensional gap between graphite layers and what they learned from it. The researchers developed theories on how such aqueous channels might work in a 2D system confined between two layers of graphite, and then ran simulations to show that their approach might work in a real computer system.
According to the researchers, their study has allowed for the creation of aqueous solutions made of single layers of molecules. Such electrolytes, they note, have hinted at the possibility of their use as means of ion transport, similar to that seen in human neurological networks.Â
