14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung Electronics is set to start the mass production of 512MB PRAM (Phase change RAM) during the first half of the next year, as the company works on keeping its leading position in the memory market. Samsung would be the first memory maker to start mass producing the 65nm 512MB PRAM in the first half of 2009. The “perfect RAM,” as PRAM is called, is the next-generation memory that comes with the benefits of NAND and NOR flash memories.
The memory maker announced plans of releasing samples of the 65nm 512MB PRAM chips and entering mass production in its 200mm manufacturing line before the end of this year. “We obtained tens of thousand PRAM samples in the 90 nano processing line. In the end of this year, we will release out pilot products. Next year, we will begin the mass production to allow clients to use and check the performances,” Samsung's executive is reported to have said.
According to the company, its current PRAM products are able to work with a less than 10 nanometer width, but can also work even in 7 nanometers, as its research has showed. “We are sure that PRAM will be available as less than 20 nanometer ultra micro memory,” Samsung added.
The Phase-change Random Access Memory (PRAM) includes a material that turns crystalline under heat. The “logical 1” in the binary system of computers is represented by the crystalline bits, while the “logical 0” is represented by the amorphous areas.
Out of all memory architectures that have been researched, PRAM is also the most scalable one. It features the fast processing speed of RAM for its operating functions which is combined with the non-volatile features of flash memory for storage. PRAM is said to be extremely fast, courtesy of its ability of rewriting data without erasing previously accumulated data. This makes PRAM 30 times faster than conventional flash memory. Moreover, the new products are expected to feature a life span ten times longer than any other flash memory product.
PRAM is also said to be more competitive than NOR flash as it can be produced with fewer process steps than those required for the manufacturing of NOR flash memory. The future designs of multi-function handsets and other mobile applications are expected to adopt PRAM at high rates, as it can provide faster speeds, hence performance boosts. Samsung unveiled pilot 256MB PRAM products back in 2005.
Samsung's competitor in the memory market, Hynix, also announced plans to complete the development of 54nm 512MB chips by the end of 2009 and to enter mass production with PRAM. At the end of the next year, we will also see Numonyx products under the 45nm process.