IBM develops low-cost, 100 times faster-than-Flash memory
02 Jul 2011
For the first time, scientists at IBM Research have demonstrated that a relatively new memory technology, known as phase-change memory (PCM), can reliably store multiple data bits per cell over extended periods of time.
This significant improvement advances the development of low-cost, faster and more durable memory applications for consumer devices, including mobile phones and cloud storage, as well as high-performance applications, such as enterprise data storage.
With a combination of speed, endurance, non-volatility and density, PCM can enable a paradigm shift for enterprise IT and storage systems within the next five years.
Scientists have long been searching for a universal, non-volatile memory technology with far superior performance than Flash – today's most ubiquitous non-volatile memory technology.
The benefits of such a memory technology would allow computers and servers to boot instantantly and significantly enhance the overall performance of IT systems.
A promising contender is PCM that can write and retrieve data 100 times faster than Flash, enable high storage capacities and not lose data when the power is turned off.
