Crossbar claims high capacity memory cuts a dash as a flash replacement

Startup memory vendor Crossbar has unveiled a type of Resistive RAM (RRAM) that can store up to one terabyte of data on a chip the size of a postage stamp, while reportedly offering twenty times the performance of existing flash memory.

Crossbar's RRAM can store 250 HD movies on a chip measuring 200 square millimetres. The firm also said it has developed the chip into a working memory array at a commercial fabrication plant, meaning commercial storage products based on the technology are ready for manufacture.

The memory sports a three-layer structure, meaning it can be stacked in three dimensions, allowing multiple terabytes of storage to fit on a single chip.

George Minassian, Crossbar's CEO, said "non-volatile memory is ubiquitous today, as the storage technology at the heart of the over a trillion dollar electronics market from tablets and USB sticks to enterprise storage systems.

"Today's non-volatile memory technologies are running out of steam, hitting significant barriers as they scale to smaller manufacturing processes. With our working Crossbar array, we have achieved all the major technical milestones that prove our RRAM technology is easy to manufacture and ready for commercialisation. It's a watershed moment for the non-volatile memory industry," he said.

Minassian said that such memory chips would deliver 20x faster write performance, 20x lower power consumption, and 10x the endurance at half the die size, compared to today's best-in-class NAND Flash memory.

The firm has not revealed when the first RRAM devices are set to ship, but said it was keen to get the technology into consumer devices as well as enterprise storage, cloud computing, wearable technology and SSDs.