Phase change memory: threat to flash, HDD

A new chip technology, called phase-change memory have been developed by Scientists at International Business Machines Corp and partners Macronix and Qimonda which may pose a threat to flash memory and hard-disk drives. The new memory device is said to switch more than 500 times faster than a flash memory chip while using less than one-half the power to write data into a cell.

In a joint statement the companies declared the results of their latest research into the technology on Monday. They claim that this new type of computer memory has the potential to succeed flash memory chips as it can do a better job of storing songs, pictures and other data on iPods and digital cameras than current flash memory and could someday replace disk drives.

Commenting on the research, Dr T C Chen, Vice President of Science & Technology, IBM Research, said, "These results dramatically demonstrate that phase-change memory has a very bright future. Many expect flash memory to encounter significant scaling limitations in the near future.”

The "Phase-change" memory device measures a mere 3 by 20 nanometers, far smaller than the size of any flash memory on the market today. It will enable the future generations to produce advanced manufacturing techniques targeted for use in 2015.

The new memory material is a complex semiconductor alloy. It is actually a germanium alloy to which other elements have been added to improve its properties. The companies have applied for a patent for the material, they said.

“We unveil a new phase-change memory material that has high performance even in an extremely small volume. This should ultimately lead to phase-change memories that will be very attractive for many applications” said Dr. Chen.

The joint research will have its technical details presented on Dec 13 at the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) 2006 and International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) in San Francisco.