Intel and Micron Technology today unveiled their 3D XPoint nonvolatile memory technology, which they call the first new memory category since the introduction of NAND flash in 1989.
The companies said the technology is up to 1,000 times faster than other industry NAND, has up to 1,000 times greater endurance than NAND, and is 10 times denser than conventional memory.
“For decades, the industry has searched for ways to reduce the lag time between the processor and data to allow much faster analysis,” said Rob Crooke, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group, in a press release. “This new class of non-volatile memory achieves this goal and brings game-changing performance to memory and storage solutions.”
“One of the most significant hurdles in modern computing is the time it takes the processor to reach data on long-term storage,” added Mark Adams, president of Micron. “This new class of non-volatile memory is a revolutionary technology that allows for quick access to enormous data sets and enables entirely new applications.”
The companies cited the expanding need for storage, with 4.4 zettabytes of digital data created in 2013, growing to an expected 44 zettabytes by 2024. 3D XPoint technology, they said, can help quickly identify fraud detection patterns in financial transactions and aid healthcare researchers in processing and analyzing large data sets in real time, accelerating tasks such as genetic analysis and disease tracking.
The companies said 3D XPoint technology was built from the ground up following more than a decade of research and development. It can significantly reduce latencies and allow more data to be stored close to the processor. The technology employs a transistor-less cross point architecture that creates a 3D checkerboard where memory cells sit at the intersection of word lines and bit lines, allowing the cells to be addressed individually. As a result, data can be written and read in small sizes, leading to faster and more efficient read/write processes.
The companies said 3D XPoint technology will sample later this year.
The companies did not reveal details of how the chips are made, but the Wall Street Journal quotes Sylvain Dubois, vice president of strategic marketing and business development at Crossbar Inc., as saying that Intel and Micron seem to be emulating elements of its resistive RAM (RRAM) technology. RRAM was a topic of considerable interest at SEMICON West held earlier this month—see here, for example.
RRAM was a topic of considerable interest at SEMICON West held earlier this month—see here, for example. And in a presentation at the imec Technology Forum co-located with SEMICON West, An Steegen, senior VP for process Technology at imec, commented on the tradeoffs between power and speed for memory. She commented on a variety of volatile and nonvolatile technologies, including SRAM, DRAM, spin-torque magnetic RAM, and RRAM, including vacancy modulated conductive oxide RRAM, which enables low-current switching (<10 μA) with retention of three years at 55°C and endurance of 1 million cycles.
