NEC, Samsung stacking flash in hopes of a one-terabit chip
It's a common adage that over time, consumer electronics get faster, cheaper, smaller (size) and bigger (capacity). In continuing with this tradition, NEC, Samsung and others are poised to introduce the next generation of flash memory by placing eight memory chips (each only 50 micrometers thick) and one controller chip in a vertical stack, with "3D connections" between all of 'em -- creating a tiny-sized but powerful piece of storage. Samsung says that this could lead to a one-terabit flash chip within the coming years, but don't count on fitting an entire season of "Lost" on your cellphone just yet -- company scientists say that these new chips are "in their early stages" and can only hold 32 bits for the time being. [Via Sci Fi Tech, thanks Mike]
Read - NEC press release
Read - Technology Review
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kibi @ Dec 19th 2006 5:13AM
"32 bits"? So that would be what, 4 bits per chip?
Wow, early stages indeed.
artard @ Dec 19th 2006 5:25AM
aa665bf5
artard @ Dec 19th 2006 5:27AM
Zmg someone haxx0r my acc with my pass.
There going to fit 120gig on 4bit chip's, So, uhh. be it 30 year's till release date?
Eddie @ Dec 19th 2006 6:02AM
Don't be an idiot, you know they meant gigabytes...
Or Maybe I'm the idiot, in which case, "This is, like, soooo 30 years agoo!!!1
Terry Pratchett @ Dec 19th 2006 6:28AM
In my day, we used to dream of 64k...
timetex @ Dec 19th 2006 6:42AM
Not even worth doing an "I, for one..."
I think we've all learnt what artard's password used to be, though. Must be so easy to type it in the "comments" box instead of the "password" one, eh?
artard @ Dec 19th 2006 7:18AM
Yeah, but i'm an Artard,
Hitesh Sawlani @ Dec 19th 2006 7:10AM
The entire season of LOST already does fit in some cell phones
Rick @ Dec 19th 2006 7:44AM
Artard, a security tip: don't post your password in public forums. Have a nice day.
Mark @ Dec 19th 2006 7:34AM
128 Gigs on a flash drive.. daaaaaamn.. that's a lot of porn to fit into a cell phone...
Isaac @ Dec 19th 2006 8:50AM
BAH! Does anyone actually read articles these days? I've seen some posts where I'm pretty sure even Engadget didn't read the article. Or in this case, post the proper link. The image/link leads to page 2 of the article, smooth guys.
Anyway, go read the damned article before posting. It's not about getting more bits on a chip. It's about a new fabrication process to fit several layers of silicon together and get them working as one. Making each layer of the chip hold a few trillion bits is the easy part, but they're testing with just 32bits/chip for now just to make sure the structure and fabrication process works.
nachoNY @ Dec 19th 2006 2:43PM
Isn't this the type of chip used in the 'Terminator'? Be afraid. Be very afraid...