Phase-Change Memory Could Replace Flash Memory Soon

UNIVERSITY OF THE CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, BEIJING, CHINA. A new type of data-storage technology has been developed by a group of researchers. The new technology consists of 50 aluminum atoms bound to 50 atoms of antimony and is considered as a very promising discovery which could dramatically change the way memory devices will be made in the near future. They call this new discovery the next generation “phase-change” memory.

As compared to the common flash memory being used nowadays for several applications, the phase-change memory will surely have a larger capacity in terms of storage. Of course, it is also made to operate much faster as compared to the typical flash memory.

The technology behind phase-change is based on materials that change from a shapeless structure to a crystalline structure once an electric pulse passes through it. When the material is in its amorphous state, it has high electrical resistance and inversely, it has low resistance when the material is in its crystalline state.

Another problem with the ubiquitous flash memory is that it starts to encounter problems when it gets smaller than 20 nanometers. Interestingly, a phase-memory device allows more memory to be squeezed in at less than 10 nanometers which is one of the most important factors to consider. Smart modern consumers would surely prefer something smaller in size but bigger in capacity at the same time.

The research team working on the phase-change memory is headed by Xilin Zhou of the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology at the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China. As of the moment, the team is investigating the endurance or reversible electrical switching of the phase-change memory cell with MLS capacity. They are also looking forward to having it out in the market as soon as everything has been finalized.