NAND flash follow-on technology
Allotropes you can eat
Cloud storage: Lower cost and increase uptime
German memory-maker Qimonda wants us to know it has a promising new non-volatile memory [NV-RAM] technology to join the NAND flash replacement candidates: carbon-resistive memory.
Different forms of carbon are known as allotropes, and the element's atoms are bonded in different ways in each allotrope. In graphite the atoms are formed into a flat hexagonal lattice and layered in sheets, whereas in diamond they form a tetrahedral lattice.
Qimonda researchers have worked out how to change the orbital characteristics of the outer electrons of carbon molecules, and thus change the allotrope, by applying an electric current. According to a paper presented at IEDM in San Francisco yesterday, this can change the carbon molecule from conductive graphite, in which the outer electrons have a hybrid orbital value of sp2, to much less conductive diamond in a tetrahedral form with a hybrid orbital value of sp3.
The smallest molecule they can use in this new NV-RAM material is 2 - 3nm whereas the smallest unit in the Numonyx-supported Phase Change Memory [PCM]. a competing NAND successor technology, is ten or more times larger at 30 - 40nm. Ergo a chip of carbon-resistive memory [CRM] will have up to 10 - 20 times more capacity than the same size PCM chip.
It is not known how its size compares to spin-transfer torque random access memory (STT-RAM), another candidate for NAND successor technology, espoused by Hynix.
Both PCM and STT-RAM are said to have DRAM speed as well as non-volatility and so could function both as a DRAM and NAND flash successor. It is not known if CRM could combine both functions. The Qimonda researchers say that they have 'demonstrated repetitive high-speed switching and the potential for multi-level programming'.
It is highly important to vendors that their preferred NAND successor technology becomes standard, because technology and IP licensing fees could flow to them as a result.
The technology is only at the research stage but Qimonda engineers are excited enough about it - their outer electrons having been galvanised by the current of their research - to conduct the session at IEDM. ®
COMMENTS
@AC
It is probably safe to say that if something conforms to, say, the SATA standard then it acts like a disk. In which case your APIs/libs/code can treat it like one.
And, of course what I think is important may not be to other people. Did I imply otherwise?
@Robert Ramsay
Yeah, think so. Not the most fun way of going about it though....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7725815.stm
They use the obvious-when-you-think-about-it pulsed liquid injection chemical vapor deposition technique. I've been drinking a lot of tequila recently resulting in quite a bit of pulsed liquid injection and plenty of chemical vapour. Doctor says my crystals are uric not diamond, though.
Bubble Memory
Was bursting by late 1970s. It had promise in the early 1970s.
It's serial with major and minor loops, so it's doubtful it will even make a comeback. Still, it beat anything else at the time for robust nv storage. More like low capacity solid state drive for Military.
Agentless Backup is Not a Myth
Steps to Take Before Choosing a Business Continuity Partner
Requirements Checklist for Choosing a Cloud Backup and Recovery Service Provider
Cloud storage: Lower cost and increase uptime
SaaS data loss: The problem you didn’t know you had
