April 1, 2003 — Motorola Inc. has demonstrated what it calls the first memory chip based on silicon nanocrystals, according to a news release.

Researchers in Motorola’s Semiconductor Products Sector said the fully functional, 4-megabit devices could replace conventional flash memory used in automobiles, wireless devices and industrial controls because they are smaller, more reliable and more energy-efficient.

Motorola developed a method to repeatedly grow the nanocrystals with existing semiconductor equipment. They are focusing on reducing the size and tightening the specifications in order to be ready for potential products by 2004, the release said.