Month: July 2015

Micron/Intel 3D XPoint Raises More Questions than Answers

Micron-Intel 3D XPoint Memory InternalsMicron and Intel hosted an event in San Francisco Tuesday, July 28, to introduce a new memory technology that they have named “3D XPoint”.  This technology was explained to be “up to 1,000 times faster, with 1,000 times the endurance of NAND flash” while being significantly cheaper than DRAM.

Some technical details:

  • 3D XPoint is a “Fundamentally Different Technology” than current memory types.  It’s an ReRAM that uses material property changes for bit storage where both DRAM and NAND use charge to store a bit
  • The chip currently stores 128Gb in two stacked planes of 64Gb each, storing a single bit per cell
    • Today’s densest production NAND flash chips store 128GB by using MLC, so this chip actually has twice as many bit cells as any production NAND flash
    • The companies do not see a clear limit to the number of planes they can stack, but are optimistic about this
  • The bulk mechanism can be used to store multiple bits on a single cell (MLC)
  • Today’s chip is made using a 20nm process, but can scale well past that
    • There is no clear limit of how far the technology can be scaled
  • It’s 1,000 times faster than NAND flash and offers 1,000 times NAND’s endurance
  • It’s 10 times as dense as today’s “Conventional Memory” (which I suppose to be DRAM)
  • This is not intended to replace either NAND or DRAM, but to coexist as a new memory layer between NAND and DRAM

The companies claim that other Continue reading “Micron/Intel 3D XPoint Raises More Questions than Answers”

Is Micron Being Acquired?

Tsinghua + Micron LogosThe following is an excerpt of an Objective Analysis Alert sent to our clients 7/13/15.

A July 13 Wall Street Journal article disclosed that China’s state-owned Tsinghua Unigroup has bid to buy Micron Technology for $21 a share or $23 billion, which would make this the largest-ever Chinese takeover of a U.S. company.

Objective Analysis has been telling our clients for the past few years that either China or India would create a new DRAM/NAND manufacturing company, especially since memory chip makers have enjoyed a long period of profits, and this usually motivates outsiders to invest in new DRAM makers.  We did not anticipate an acquisition.

Countries with heavy industry typically move into the semiconductor business during an extended upturn, and become DRAM suppliers since DRAM is an undifferentiated commodity.  Commodities sell almost solely on price and success is based on little more than manufacturing strength.  This is a business model that industrial economies understand.

In addition to Micron’s tangible assets, including Continue reading “Is Micron Being Acquired?”

Avalanche Samples MRAM

AVALANCHE TECHNOLOGY, INC. LOGO

Today Avalanche Technology announced that it is sampling MRAM, making it the world’s second company to actually produce this much-researched technology.

For those unfamiliar with MRAM, it is one of a number of technologies being positioned to replace currently-entrenched memory technologies once they reach their scaling limits.  Regular Memory Guy readers know that this juncture has been anticipated for a few decades, but always seems to get postponed.

MRAM, like many other alternative technologies, offers the promise of scaling beyond the limits of DRAM and NAND to become cheaper than ether of these technologies.  Add to this its fast write speed, low power, lack of refresh, nearly unlimited endurance, and nonvolatility, and it becomes a very compelling alternative over the long term.

As opposed to the other MRAM-maker Everspin, Avalanche’s MRAM uses Continue reading “Avalanche Samples MRAM”