Better insulation makes phase-change memory work faster, more efficiently
Thursday, June 9, 2011 - 17:30
in Physics & Chemistry
The perfect data storage solution should offer fast access to data, maintain data in the absence of external power, and be able to withstand large numbers of readwrite cycles. Phase-change random access memory (PCRAM), a type of non-volatile memory that uses the amorphous and crystalline states of phase-change materials for encoding data, can satisfy all of these criteria. Unfortunately, PCRAM also tends to have impractically high power requirements that have impeded its application in many devices. Desmond Loke and co-workers at the A*STAR Data Storage Institute have now demonstrated a technology that could help reduce the power requirements of PCRAM.