Crossbar Unveils Resistive RAM Non-Volatile Memory Technology

California chip startup Crossbar has revealed what it declares as the first commercially viable Resistive RAM (RRAM) memory chip, a new generation of non-volatile memory capable of storing up to 1TB of data on a single 200mm2 chip.

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Flaunting rather inspiring specifications for the RRAM technology, Crossbar’s chips promise 20 times the write performance with 20 times less power consumption at a fraction of the size of its NAND flash modules, which is also ten times more tough and durable.

The Resistive RAM facilitates huge amount of information, such as 250 hours of HD movies, to be stored and played back from an IC smaller than a postage stamp. This technology is actually made possible because of the 3D structure of memory cells on the chip, stacked on top of each other vertically instead of spread out in a two dimensional (2D) horizontal grid. This is the same inventive method for creating chips that Micron and Samsung have been working on over the past few years.

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According to Crossbar, the RRAM will also hold data for up to 20 years, opposite to the three years offered by NAND chips. The chips’ low power utilization is also said to expand the battery life of devices, such as smartphones and tablets, by weeks, months and years.

Crossbar is actually seeking to get its RRAM technology right into consumer devices, such as all of your personal entertainment, data, photos and information in a device that fits in your pocket as well as applications in enterprise storage, cloud computing, wearable technology and SSDs.

Source: ExtremeTech | News Archive