Japan's AIST boasts of longer-life NAND flash memory

As we've seen, Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (otherwise known as AIST) is a pretty prolific place and it, along with its cohorts at the University of Tokyo, are now boasting about a breakthrough in NAND flash memory that could result in far longer lifespans. The key to that, it seems, is the use of ferroelectric gate field-effect transistors (or FeFETs, pictured above) as memory cells, which apparently not only "dramatically improves" the performance of NAND flash memory, but allows it to be programmed and erased more than 100 million times. What's more, the FeFET-based memory apparently also requires less power than traditional NAND flash memory, with it able to operate at a programming voltage of less than 6V, as opposed to the 20V of current memory. Of course, there's no indication as to when any of this will find its way into consumer products, with AIST only saying that plans to design and develop the "Fe-NAND" flash memory array circuits and verify their operations in cooperation with the University of Tokyo.

[Via Slashdot]

[SuperSexyErik @ Jul 17th 2008 3:45AM]

It's official, the U.S has lost is competitive edge. =/

[L.Rawlins @ Jul 17th 2008 5:09AM]

Why must developments, technologies and breakthroughs of other nations always threaten the seeming superiority complex of the American ego?

This is good news for everyone! Get over it, and yourselves.


Yours sincerely,
The North, The South and The East.

[dBs @ Jul 17th 2008 8:48AM]

@L.Rawlins

Because every country is technically in a fight for economic power/stability because there's only finite resources/knowledge in the world and everyone cannot have everything. There is nothing wrong with trying to better ones position in life, and not everyone can tie in the 100 meter.

[Rufus White @ Jul 17th 2008 11:28AM]

I think that's the first comment I've seen you make where you haven't been rubbing one off on your iPhone.

[Funke, Tobias Dr. @ Jul 17th 2008 4:16AM]

They're years ahead of us!

[pfromg @ Jul 17th 2008 7:04AM]

no they are not.

[Funke, Tobias Dr. @ Jul 18th 2008 2:00PM]

Obviously you're not a fan of The Simpsons.

[yoctotech @ Jul 17th 2008 6:01AM]

wish to be faster

[phantomo.lui @ Jul 17th 2008 7:23AM]

Why argue? This is all just research and development. It is the one who commercialize it that wins.

[neofolklore @ Jul 17th 2008 7:56AM]

I get that its supposed to be microscopic, but WHY the grainy image?

and whats the point of this, when did NAND flash ever need a defibrillator?

[kryptocaine @ Jul 17th 2008 8:28AM]

Wait, what?

[dBs @ Jul 17th 2008 8:51AM]

I understand the structure they show here, its very simplistic as far as an active circuit element is concerned. What has me scratching my head is why the substrate has its own "pinout". My best guess is that it is just intended for the ground plane?

[Casey @ Jul 17th 2008 4:15PM]

Voltage is NOT a measurement of power. ENGINEERING FAIL.

[Allen @ Jul 17th 2008 4:22PM]

Flash memory also requires strong electric fields during program and erase, where a nonzero bias on the substrate can be helpful. There are also other effects of substrate bias that can improve performance of a flash cell (but I don't understand those that well at all).

See:
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7023740.html