Omneo PCM from Numonyx 300 Times Faster than Flash

Quite often, when advancement is made in a particular technological field, a certain type of product takes on special traits and capabilities of another. This has allowed for the devising of such concepts as storage units that could perform computing tasks on their own and CPUs with integrated graphics capabilities (which actually already exist). Now, yet another kind of product has emerged claiming to have a much higher potential and usefulness than current storage technology.

Intel Corp. and STMicroelectronics have a flash joint venture known as Numonyx. For some time now, this company has been investigating new types of solutions set to allow storage technology to become even faster than what solid state drives currently permit.

Sure enough, its efforts seem to have paid off, as is stated in the latest press announcement. Numonyx BV unveiled the Omneo Phase Change Memory (PCM), which merges the best traits of NOR and NAND chips into a solution capable of acting both like RAM, as well as Flash storage devices.

Essentially, the Omneo claims to not only retain stored data when not powered, but also write it 300 times faster than current SSDs. Data retention has also received a boost (it can last for ten times as long without the data becoming corrupted).

"Because PCM acts differently and solves the unique problems of various segments, Numonyx decided to communicate the uniqueness of our new products with distinctive brand names," said Raymond Solone, senior director of corporate marketing at Numonyx. "With the new features and benefits PCM technology provides our customers, we sought a product brand strategy that directly connects the value PCM brings to the applications and segments that can take advantage of the technology. PCM is a extraordinary memory technology."

"Not since flash memory was introduced in 1988 has the industry seen a new, high-density memory technology," stated Glen Hawk, Numonyx vice president and general manager of the Embedded Business Group. "Today, designers have to use different memory types for code storage and execution, as well as data storage. Now, with Numonyx Omneo PCM, they have a simple, one-device solution."

The 128Mb Omneo P5Q PCM and P8P PCM are based on the 90nm manufacturing process technology and are already being produced in volume. This means that they should soon be ready for implementation in wired/wireless communications, embedded applications, consumer electronics and PCs.