IBM Challenges 3D XPoint With TLC Phase-Change Memory (PCM)

[Guest]

IBM unveiled new technology that enables Phase Change Memory (PCM) to store three bits of data per cell, which could provide a density and cost advantage over the rival Intel/Micron 3D XPoint.

IBM Challenges 3D XPoint With TLC Phase-Change Memory (PCM) : Read more

 

[The Wizzard]

The line "...between crystalline and amorphous states in a chalcogenide (glass-like) alloy" should really read "between crystalline and amorphous (glass-like) states in a chalcogenide alloy" so as not to jumble definitions. Chalcogenides are sulfur, phosphorus et al (incl oxygen but usually not described as such); it does not describe the state of the matter, only it's composition.

 

[Nuckles_56]

Wake me up when this actually comes to the mass market

 

[bit_user]

...

I really appreciate the table, but I wonder about the Energy Per Bit row. Does that represent the amount of energy needed to write a bit? Since few of these technologies are bit-addressable, did you compute the energy needed to write a block and then divide by the bits per block? And why is the range so big, for Flash? 10^1 to 10^14 ...it's very rare to see a range that big, anywhere.

And why would the units be (pj)^2? That's (pico-Joules)^2, correct?

Also, the areal density of HDDs could have been included, in the last cell. Even though it's not a chip, it would convey a sense of the relative densities.

I hadn't been following the development of memristor-based storage products, but now I will!

Anyway, nice article.