IBM and two computer memory manufacturers, Qimonda and Macronix, designed new type of memory chip to hold digital music, video, pictures. The chip will be used in consumer electronics (mobile phones, digital cameras, music players) at first, then it will be used for IBM PC processors.
The chip will move flash memory sticks out from the market, because:
1. It uses less power,
2. It can hold more information - modern flash memory chips store as much as 32 billion bits on a chip;
3. It is much faster than flash memory - 500 times faster;
4. And it is small - only 3 by 20 nanometers.
IBM presented a technical paper of the new chip to the scientists. Vivek Subramanian, an associate professor of electrical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, who has read the technical paper describing the project, said, "Everybody recognizes that scaling flash is going to be a problem in the long run. This looks like a really attractive technology that is both scaleable and consumes little power."
The new chip is on the base of alloy composed of just germanium and antimony. The details are still being kept in secret. But the technical characters of the technology are promising, and the devices seem to be more durable. So say goodbye to your flash sticks, mp3 players and meet the novelty.
"This is a Christmas present for the industry because it shatters so many things at once," said Richard Doherty, consulting firm Envisioneering's president, who has been briefed on the technical paper. "This could change the basic equation between processors, local storage and communications."
By Ruzan Harutyunyan for HULIQ
Posted December 12th, 2006 by ruzik_tuzik
