IBM, Macronix and Infineon explore phase change memory
Munich - IBM, Infineon and Macronix announced today a joint research initiative to explore the potential of a new form of computer memory technology called phase-change memory (PCM). Researchers believe PCM has the potential to replace DRAM and Flash down the road.
After FRAM, polymer memory (PFRAM), Conductive Bridge RAM (CBRAM), Organic RAM (ORAM) and Nanotube RAM (NRAM) there is yet another memory technology that competes in the race to succeed today’s Flash or even DRAM. Phase Change Memory (PCM), also known as PCRAM, combines the advantages of DRAM and Flash and adds low power consumption characteristics.
Other than common DRAM, PCRAM is non-volatile and retains stored data even when power is turned off - just as Flash. However, phase change technology could make memory devices about 100 to 200 times faster than Flash, current research claims.
PCM is a rather new technology that stores data by changing the state of a special material from an amorphous to a crystalline structure, rather than storing data as an electrical charge.
The basic idea of PCM however has been circulated for more than decade. Intel for example uses the approach in Ovonics Unified Memory (OUM), also a technology that aims to replace Flash sometime after 2008. Today, phase-change materials already are used for example in CD or DVD rewritable media : A laser heats the surface material and switches between its amorphous and crystalline phases. At the same time, the reflectivity of the material changes, which can be recognized by a laser in a reading process.
While the potential of PCM is currently explored by numerous firms - including IBM, Infineon, Macronix, Intel and Philips - a market introduction will largely be determined its scalability and production cost as well as a declining opportunity to scale Flash and DRAM at the same time. According to Flash manufacturers, Flash is likely to scale into the 20 nm range and therefore will dominate the non-volatile memory market beyond 2008.
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