“Ultra thin computers coupled with ultra thin display could one day be used in devices like the high tech eyeglasses that Detective Conan wears.” For the unaware, Detective Conan is a popular being from the world of Japanese Manga (comics)——who is armed with an “array of high-tech gadgets like computerized eyeglasses, a voice-changing bow tie, and power-boost sneakers.” Am I confusing you by bringing in a detective, manga and what not? It is at times kind of interesting to start from somewhere in the middle and come to the point and then conclude. The researchers, at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology, have come up with a biotech-based process for creating ultrathin computer memory.

Now can you co-relate, and to add more to the beginning——the researchers are quite fond of Detective Conan and his devices, and probably have taken inspiration from them. The latest discovery is slated to create much smaller and thinner computers in the future (Sony’s Vaio will for sure take a liking to it).

The biotech process uses a protein——globular protein complex found in mammals—— ferritin that stores iron inside its structure. The Japanese researchers found a way to deposit metal memory cells on thinner substrate without heat, the applied ferritin is allowed to self-assemble into a high density ordered arrangement.

After that the ferritin is exposed to ultra-violet light, which destroys the protein and leaves behind a residue of tiny metal deposits on the substrate. Using this process, the researchers skipped the high temperature processing phase, which led to the creation of ultrathin memory chips that measure less than 1 micron in thickness.

If you still cannot figure out the relation between Detective Conan and the protein, let me give the researchers the honor to do the conclusion:
Research team leader and electronics engineering professor Yukiharu Uraoka says, “We are well on the way to developing computers built on thin films that can be integrated into eyeglass lenses or into clothing. Conan’s eyeglasses are no longer a dream.”

Conan’s creator, Gosho Aoyama, says, “It is great thrill to see an idea on the pages of a manga become a reality. Next, if possible, I’d like someone to develop power-boost sneakers.”

Finally everything fits. But, the ultra thin products will take a while before it moves out of the manga to the real market shelf.

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