UltraRAM

Schematic cross-section of a device with corresponding material layers. (Image credit: Lancaster University)

UltraRAM is a brand name and a storage device technology that is under development. The Physics and Engineering department of Lancaster University in collaboration with Department of Physics at Warwick published a paper[1] in the journal of advanced electronic materials suggesting an improvement in non volatile memory technology. It has been described as a memory storage technology that "combines the non-volatility of a data storage memory, like flash, with the speed, energy-efficiency, and endurance of a working memory, like DRAM" which means it could retain data like a hard drive.[2] While the Lancaster team performed some basic experiments to demonstrate the principles in action, UltraRAM remains mostly theoretical at the moment.[3] The Lancaster University researchers say that further work is ongoing to improve quality, fine-tune the fabrication process, and implement and scale UltraRAM devices.[4]

  1. ^ Hodgson, Peter D.; Lane, Dominic; Carrington, Peter J.; Delli, Evangelia; Beanland, Richard; Hayne, Manus (2022-01-05). "ULTRARAM: A Low-Energy, High-Endurance, Compound-Semiconductor Memory on Silicon". Advanced Electronic Materials. 8 (4): 2101103. doi:10.1002/aelm.202101103. ISSN 2199-160X. S2CID 248070399.
  2. ^ "Mass production of revolutionary computer memory moves closer with ULTRARAM on silicon wafers for the first time". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  3. ^ "'UltraRAM' breakthrough could merge storage and RAM into one component". PCWorld. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  4. ^ Mark Tyson (2022-01-10). "UltraRAM Breakthrough Brings New Memory and Storage Tech to Silicon". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved 2022-04-08.