Notable
Tom KirkmanIndependent Project Manager
Notable
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‘Accidental discovery’ creates candidate for universal memory – a weird semiconductor that consumes a billion times less power.
A chance discovery by researchers could drastically lower the energy needed for next-generation memory technologies.
Scientists may have accidentally overcome a major barrier to smoothening the adoption of next-generation data-storage technologies.
Using a unique material called indium selenide (In2Se3), researchers say they discovered a technique for lowering the energy requirements of phase-change memory (PCM)
– a technology capable of storing data without a constant power supply –
by up to 1 billion times.
The breakthrough is a step toward overcoming one of the biggest challenges in PCM data storage, potentially paving the way for low-power memory devices and electronics, the researchers said in a study published Nov. 6 in the journal Nature.
PCM is a leading candidate for universal memory – computing memory that can replace both short-term memory like random access memory (RAM) and storage devices like solid-state drives (SSDs) or hard drives.
RAM is fast but needs significant physical space and a constant power supply to run, while SSDs or hard drives are much denser and can store data while computers are turned off.
Universal memory combines the best of both. …”
