Micron Launches Phase-Change Memory for Mobile Devices
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Company claims to be first in the industry to make available high quantities of its 45-nanometer phase-change memory chip.
Is phase-change memory, acronymed PCM and discussed for the last six years as a potential replacement for NAND flash, finally ready for prime time? Solid-state semiconductor maker Micron Technology July 17 claimed to be the first in the industry to make available high volumes of its 45-nanometer phase-change memory chip for mobile devices. The Boise, Idaho-based company's 45nm PCMs are targeted for high-end feature-type phones, with its longer-range strategy to build them for smartphones and tablet PCs.
The new processors (wafer pictured at left) feature 1G-bit PCM plus 512M-bit LPDDR2 (Low Power Double Data Rate memory, also known as Mobile DDR, or MDDR) in a multichip package.
NAND flash is inherently slowed down by so-called erase-write cycle limitations. This is because NAND flash requires that data first be marked for deletion before new data is written to the disk, which slows the process considerably. PCM does not require erase-write cycles. Thus, the extra erase-write activity causes NAND flash performance to degrade faster and, over time, wear out the disk. Typically, NAND flash disk life spans range from 5,000 to 10,000 write cycles in consumer disks and up to 100,000 cycles in enterprise-class disks. In contrast, PCM can handle up to an estimated 5 million write cycles. Micron, IBM and Intel contend PCM also provides enhanced boot time and simplifies software development, thanks to its inherent speed. It also provides low power consumption and high reliability, Micron said. In addition, the design-optimizing shared interface between LPDDR2 and PCM is fully compliant with JEDEC (Joint Electron Devices Engineering Council) industry standards, Micron said.
Chris Preimesberger was named Editor-in-Chief of Features & Analysis at eWEEK in November 2011. Previously he served eWEEK as Senior Writer, covering a range of IT sectors that include data center systems, cloud computing, storage, virtualization, green IT, e-discovery and IT governance. His blog, Storage Station, is considered a go-to information source. Chris won a national Folio Award for magazine writing in November 2011 for a cover story on Salesforce.com and CEO-founder Marc Benioff, and he has served as a judge for the SIIA Codie Awards since 2005. In previous IT journalism, Chris was a founding editor of both IT Manager's Journal and DevX.com and was managing editor of Software Development magazine. His diverse resume also includes: sportswriter for the Los Angeles Daily News, covering NCAA and NBA basketball, television critic for the Palo Alto Times Tribune, and Sports Information Director at Stanford University. He has served as a correspondent for The Associated Press, covering Stanford and NCAA tournament basketball, since 1983. He has covered a number of major events, including the 1984 Democratic National Convention, a Presidential press conference at the White House in 1993, the Emmy Awards (three times), two Rose Bowls, the Fiesta Bowl, several NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments, a Formula One Grand Prix auto race, a heavyweight boxing championship bout (Ali vs. Spinks, 1978), and the 1985 Super Bowl. A 1975 graduate of Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., Chris has won more than a dozen regional and national awards for his work. He and his wife, Rebecca, have four children and reside in Redwood City, Calif.Follow on Twitter: editingwhiz
