IBM has recently announced a new method to use phase-change memory, which will be better than the standard RAM and flash. The computer company has also revealed the different types of applications the new memory can replace with.
The computer company has announced a better way to use phase-change memory, which is a technology that has surpassed the flash memory and the RAM, according to PR Newswire. This new type of memory can become a faster and more reliable type of storage. The PCM is a type of optical storage that is non-volatile, and works like a rewritable Blu-ray disc.
This type of memory also has different types of applications that it can replace with like replacing RAM in a current desktop computer. It can also become an additional memory for a computer or a hybrid form of PCM and flash memory to boost the speeds in a mobile device like a smart phone. The company said in a statement that it could be used as storage for an operating system of a mobile phone, which lets the device boot up in just a few seconds.
According to The Verge, the PCM had an issue in the past, which was a limited capacity and it costs too much in terms of storage. It previously could only store one bit per cell, which made it useless when it came to main memory applications like storage for data.
The company's researchers did not give up on this technology, and later they made a discovery, which was the method of storing three bits per cell by adjustment with how the crystals would react to temperatures in higher levels. IBM manager of non-volatile memory research Haris Pozidis said in a statement that it was an important discovery because the DRAM will cost more than this new memory, but at the same time a bit closer to the flash memory.
Applications of artificial intelligence, which are cloud-based can also benefit from this new type of memory. With the speed of the PCM, machine learning algorithms will be shorter due to its speed boost that is accomplished by reducing the latency overhead when it reads the data. Flash memory can only go for 3,000 write cycles, while the PCM can withstand up to 10 million cycles.
Check out the company's storage memory breakthrough video below: