Phase-changeMemory
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IBM's optical storage is 50 times faster than flash
Flash storage is too slow for your device's main memory, but RAM is expensive and volatile. Thanks to a breakthrough from IBM, phase-change memory (PCM) might one day replace them both. The crystal-based storage has been used in optical disks and other tech for at least 15 years, but the technology has been limited by the cost and storage density -- cells are either "on" or "off." However, IBM researchers have figured out how to save 3-bits of data per cell, dramatically increasing the capacity of the original tech.
Phase change memory breakthrough could lead to gigahertz-plus data transfers, make SSDs seem pokey
Often considered the eventual successor to flash, phase change memory has had a tough time getting to the point where it would truly take over; when it takes longer to write data than conventional RAM, there's clearly a roadblock. The University of Cambridge has the potential cure through a constant-power trick that primes the needed hybrid of germanium, antimony and tellurium so that it crystalizes much faster, committing data to memory at an equally speedy rate. Sending a steady, weak electric field through the substance lets a write operation go through in just 500 picoseconds; that's 10 times faster than an earlier development without the antimony or continuous power. Researchers think it could lead to permanent storage that runs at refresh rates of a gigahertz or more. In other words, the kinds of responsiveness that would make solid-state drives break out in a sweat. Any practical use is still some distance off, although avid phase change memory producers like Micron are no doubt champing at the bit for any upgrade they can get.
Numonyx (Intel and STMicroelectronics) already shipping phase-change memory samples
We hear this new phase-change memory stuff is awful special, which is why we're hoping to get our hands on some now that Numonyx (the "pospective" company founded last year by Intel and STMicroelectronics to make the stuff), is apparently shipping "Alverstone"-codenamed prototypes. Of course, with progress comes hype: according to Ed Doller, Numonyx's "prospective" CTO, "This is the most significant non-volatile memory advancement in 40 years." Show us the memory!
