Scientists from IBM, Macronix and Qimonda announced joint research results that give a major boost to a new type of computer memory with the potential to be the successor to flash memory chips, which are widely used in computers and consumer electronics like digital cameras and portable music players.
The advancement heralds future success for phase-change memory, which appears to be much faster and can be scaled to dimensions smaller than flash—enabling future generations of high-density non-volatile memory devices as well as more powerful electronics. Non-volatile memories do not require electrical power to retain their information. By combining non-volatility with good performance and reliability, this phase-change technology may also enable a path toward a universal memory for mobile applications.
Working together at IBM Research labs on both U.S. coasts, the scientists designed, built and demonstrated a prototype phase-change memory device that switched more than 500 times faster than flash while using less than one-half the power to write data into a cell. The device's cross-section is a minuscule 3 by 20 nanometers in size, far smaller than flash can be built today and equivalent to the industry's chip-making capabilities targeted for 2015. This new result shows that unlike flash, phase-change memory technology can improve as it gets smaller with Moore's Law advancements.
Dr. T. C. Chen, vice president, science & technology, IBM Research, said, "These results dramatically demonstrate that phase-change memory has a very bright future. Many expect flash memory to encounter significant scaling limitations in the near future. We unveil a new phase-change memory material that has high performance even in an extremely small volume. This should ultimately lead to phase-change memories that will be very attractive for many applications."
The new material is a complex semiconductor alloy created in an exhaustive search conducted at IBM's Almaden Research Center in San Jose, Calif. It was designed with the help of mathematical simulations specifically for use in phase-change memory cells.
Dr. Wilhelm Beinvogl, senior vice president, technical innovation, Qimonda, stated, “Emerging memory technologies, like phase-change memory, are important elements of Qimonda’s advanced memory development. We have demonstrated the potential of the phase-change memory technology on very small dimensions laying out a scalability path. Thus phase-change memories have the clear potential to play an important role in future memory systems.”
Miin Wu, chairman and president of Macronix, explained, “Macronix has dedicated to developing non-volatile memories since it is formed. The recognition from IEDM and ISSCC proves that our collaborative efforts with IBM and Qimonda have achieved continuous success in phase-change memory technology. Besides the phase-change memory technology breakthrough, we have also been developing the new NAND Flash technology, BE-SONOS, as a solution for the data storage application. We are committed to always providing our customers with high performance, advanced non-volatile memories solutions."
The IBM/Macronix/Qimonda joint project's phase-change memory achievement is important because it demonstrates a new non-volatile phase-change material that can switch more than 500 times faster than flash memory, with less than one-half the power consumption, and, most significantly, achieves these desirable properties when scaled down to at least the 22-nanometer node, two chip-processing generations beyond floating-gate flash's predicted brick wall.
The new memory material is a germanium-antimony alloy (GeSb) to which small amounts of other elements have been added (doped) to enhance its properties. Simulation studies enabled the researchers to fine-tune and optimize the material's properties and to study the details of its crystallization behavior. A patent has been filed covering the composition of the new material.
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