Related topics: iphone · apple · samsung electronics

Combining magnetic data storage and logic

Computers normally store and process data in separate modules. But now researchers at ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute have developed a method that allows logical operations to be performed directly within a memory ...

Bringing the green revolution to electronics

Researchers are investigating how to make electronic components from eco-friendly, biodegradable materials to help address a growing public health and environmental problem: around 50 million tonnes of electronic waste are ...

Consortium buying Toshiba's memory business promises growth

The buyers of Toshiba Corp.'s memory device operations are promising to invest in technology development and manufacturing facilities to stay competitive, although they stopped short of giving a specific monetary amount or ...

SK Hynix posts record quarterly net profit

The world's second-largest memory chipmaker SK Hynix saw profits nearly double to hit a record in the fourth quarter on strong demand, it said Thursday.

New insights on 'captured' electrons could improve flash memory

An entirely new model of the way electrons are briefly trapped and released in tiny electronic devices suggests that a long-accepted, industry-wide view is just plain wrong about the way these captured electrons affect the ...

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Flash memory

Flash memory is a non-volatile computer memory that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It is a technology that is primarily used in memory cards and USB flash drives for general storage and transfer of data between computers and other digital products. It is a specific type of EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) that is erased and programmed in large blocks; in early flash the entire chip had to be erased at once. Flash memory costs far less than byte-programmable EEPROM and therefore has become the dominant technology wherever a significant amount of non-volatile, solid state storage is needed. Example applications include PDAs (personal digital assistants), laptop computers, digital audio players, digital cameras and mobile phones. It has also gained popularity in the game console market, where it is often used instead of EEPROMs or battery-powered SRAM for game save data.

Since flash memory is non-volatile, no power is needed to maintain the information stored in the chip. In addition, flash memory offers fast read access times (although not as fast as volatile DRAM memory used for main memory in PCs) and better kinetic shock resistance than hard disks. These characteristics explain the popularity of flash memory in portable devices. Another feature of flash memory is that when packaged in a "memory card," it is enormously durable, being able to withstand intense pressure, extremes of temperature, and even immersion in water.

Although technically a type of EEPROM, the term "EEPROM" is generally used to refer specifically to non-flash EEPROM which is erasable in small blocks, typically bytes. Because erase cycles are slow, the large block sizes used in flash memory erasing give it a significant speed advantage over old-style EEPROM when writing large amounts of data.

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