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Working Prototype of PRAM by Samsung

According to Samsung Electronics` announcement on Monday (September 11), the company has completed the industry`s first fully working prototype of a 512-Mbit Phase-change Random Access Memory (PRAM). It is expected to become the main memory device that will replace high-density NOR flash memories within the next ten years.

According to Samsung, the PRAM has been developed by adopting the use of vertical diodes with the three" dimensional transistor structure that it now uses to produce a DRAM. The PRAM has the smallest cell size of any working memory that is free of inter-cell noise, which allows virtually infinite scalability. The PRAM includes the fast processing speed of RAM for its operating functions together with the nonvolatile features of flash memory for storage, giving it the nickname of "Perfect RAM".

The PRAM can rewrite data without the need to erase data previously accumulated, and so it is effectively 30-times faster than a regular flash memory. It is also expected to have at least 10-times the endurance of the conventional flash memory. Samsung claimed the PRAM would become a competitive choice over NOR flash, with availability beginning sometime in 2008.