TECHNOLOGY FOR CHANGE

Racetrack Memory Aims to Replace Flash/HD

IBM is perfecting a solid-state memory technology that, like flash memory chips, is intended to replace hard disk drives with devices that have no moving parts. And even better than flash, IBM's racetrack memory does not wear out no matter how many times you read, write or erase it.

Table of Contents:

Racetrack Memory Aims to Replace Flash/HD
Magnetic memory technologies�notably hard disk drives�can be read, written and erased any number of times, since the only changes made are in the orientation of the magnetic material on its surface, which does not fatigue. Unfortunately, solid-state memories like flash will never completely replace hard disks because they fatigue and wear out after about 10,000 read/write cycles.

Now, however, IBM has developed a magnetic memory technology that combines the no-moving-parts convenience of a solid-state solution with the speed, reliability and longevity of a hard disk drive.

Racetrack memories have been the object of intense research efforts by IBM since 2004, when the major processes were patented by the company. Since then, IBM's research team has demonstrated all the component parts needed to read, write and erase magnetic bits serially encoded around a nanowire racetrack, similar in concept to the tiny magnet tracks around a hard disk platter. However, instead of rotating the disk to bring each bit in a track under the read head of the drive, an electrical current is used to push the bits around the nanowire track so that they can be read by a stationary head.

IBM has demonstrated all the component parts of its racetrack memory, which moves magnetic bits along a stationary nanowire "track" that stores hundreds of times more information than even the densest hard disk.

Next: The Best of Both Memory Worlds >>