Transparent, Flexible 3D Memory Chips Could Replace Flash

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First rumors about the demise of flash surfaces as early as 2004 when there was speculation that MRAM, OUM, PRAM or nanocrystal-supported flash would replace flash memory chips beyond the 32 nm scale by 2009.

Despite the fact that flash is still going strong even in 2012, researchers believe they have identified a new technology that will replace flash someday: Transparent, flexible 3D memory chips.

"These new chips are really big for the electronics industry because they are now looking for replacements for flash memory," said Tour. "These new memory chips have numerous advantages over the chips today that are workhorses for data storage in hundreds of millions of flash, or thumb drives, smart phones, computers and other products. Flash has about another six or seven years in which it can be built smaller, but then developers hit fundamental barriers."

There are also potential new application areas that is enabled by the transparency of the chips. The researcher said that they could be built into glass, for example. Tour noted that the research team intended to test the chips on board the Russian Progress 44 cargo spacecraft in August 2011. Unfortunately, that spacecraft crashed over Siberia and he now hopes that a future mission scheduled for a July 2012 launch will succeed. The test in space is designed to test how the memory reacts to high radiation exposure.

Tour said that the memory chips are already patented, and Tour is talking to manufacturers about embedding the chips into products. However, there was no information when the technology will be available commercially and when further details about their technical specifications will become available.

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Douglas Perry
Douglas Perry
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Douglas Perry was a freelance writer for Tom's Hardware covering semiconductors, storage technology, quantum computing, and processor power delivery. He has authored several books and is currently an editor for The Oregonian/OregonLive.

8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • It *could* replace flash, but I wager that some cheaper alternative without a few of the conferred benefits (like flexibility, resistance to water, and resistance to heat) will come along and that will be the dominant one that becomes available to consumers due to cheaper price for same capacity.

    See NOR flash vs NAND flash (or even within NAND flash itself, SLC vs. MLC), SRAM vs DRAM, and many more of the same sort of battle play out between a cheap technology and a more expensive but superior technology equivalent.
    Reply
  • lamorpa
    So this is the new future technology that will replace flash by 2017. Just like, "2004 when ... MRAM, OUM, PRAM or nanocrystal-supported flash would replace flash memory chips ... by 2009" I get it!
    Reply
  • jabliese
    lamorpaSo this is the new future technology that will replace flash by 2017. Just like, "2004 when ... MRAM, OUM, PRAM or nanocrystal-supported flash would replace flash memory chips ... by 2009" I get it!Exactly. Any new technology 5 years out you *might* see in 10 years. Anything 2 years out slips to 5 years. Anything beyond 5 years out slips into forever.
    Reply
  • freggo
    So we can use the Gorilla Glass of a smart phone as it's memory ?
    Cool; tablets will have quite some memory available then.

    Reply
  • annymmo
    This technology could be a survivor!!

    Sounds like it's going to be cheap and rugged!!
    Withstanding those high temperatures and hopefully high radiation is a nice bonus.

    THere are already microcontrollers and discrete chips with FRAM available.
    Fram is used in some areas!! But the article thing could be a breakthrough.

    @Melchior
    Materials don't work like that.
    You don't have cheaper and less features in a linear way.
    A cheaper material can have superior properties to a more expensive material.
    Factories then just use the cheaper because of competition.

    It's perfectly possible to have good and cheap materials or bad and expensive materials.
    Reply
  • alxianthelast
    I wonder if they will be rejected if implanted into the body by the immune system (johnny mnemonic style)

    "I'm carrying 3.2 Terabytes of data in my body."
    Reply
  • lamorpa
    alxianthelastI wonder if they will be rejected if implanted into the body by the immune system (johnny mnemonic style)"I'm carrying 3.2 Terabytes of data in my body."No. It's inert. (kind of obvious)
    Reply
  • __-_-_-__
    in other news SSD's prices still very high.
    Reply