The NRAM: A New Storage Device
Group 7
Jonathan Bull, Justin Jones and Ashley Robinett
Key Words: Nanotube, Fullerenes, NRAM, Nantero.
NRAM (Nanotube-based/Nonvolatile Random Access Memory) is a forward-looking innovation that will replace DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) chips that are in our computers, PDAs, cell phones, digital cameras, MP3 players, network servers and virtually all other electronics that touch our lives every day. This storage device will potentially be faster and denser than our traditional DRAM devices and will consume considerably less power. Current research indicates that NRAM will have the capacity to boot and reboot computer instantly, and provide permanent data storage even without power. This could have very positive implications for organizations and businesses, including reducing energy consumption, which will have a direct effect on reduction of costs, offering a greater storage capacity, and allowing a smooth transition for computer companies to replace the old memory and storage devices with the new NRAM memory which will be compatible with both the traditional computer models and the newest of technology. NRAM’s carbon nanotube (CNT) atomic structure will conduct electricity as well as copper, be as resilient as steel, and as hard as diamond.
NRAM is a storage device that will vastly improve the speed and capacity of current memory chips that are found in everyday electronics and will likely flood the markets to replace them within a few years’ time. The gadgets of the future will run faster, cooler, and smarter than ever before with this innovation. According to Nantero, Inc. CEO, Greg Schmergel, “Any other material would break, but carbon nanotubes allow a virtually infinite number of write cycles.” This speed and efficiency is due to its ingenious design. In a recent article by Humphrey Cheung, he expounds, “Nantero’s memory will use CNTs that are suspended above electrodes. The CNTs are moved up or down by an electric charge and their position determines whether the bit is registered as a one or zero. After moving, no further electricity is needed because the tube is held by molecular forces.”
NRAM is currently being researched and tested by the Massachusetts-based Nantero, Inc. According to their website, “Nantero is a nanotechnology company using carbon nanotubes for the development of next-generation semiconductor devices…including memory, logic, and other semiconductor products.” Nantero is on the cutting edge of nanotechnology, being among the first to develop semiconductor products using carbon nanotubes.
NRAM was invented by Dr. Thomas Rueckes, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Nantero, Inc. The founding team of Nantero, Inc. that has assisted Dr. Rueckes in his research and development is made up of veteran scientists in the field of computer technology. Their objective is to be the leader in new and innovative computer technology, and NRAM is their next step toward that goal.
Organizations and businesses will certainly be of advantage to embrace this new technology as it makes its appearance on the global markets. Being such an innovative and revolutionary design, first movers will reap the greatest competitive advantage by being able to tout their technological savvy. Once the business world is inundated with NRAM, everyone from small mom-and-pop stores to multimillion dollar corporations will profit from its novel design. The increased storage capacity has the potential to take the place of hard drives because it can store more data in less space and is unaffected by environmental forces (i.e. mechanical shock, heat, cold, magnets). In a recent TG Daily online article, Schmergel was unable to give specific specs on the density and performance of CNT memory modules, but he did say that “eventually we could put one trillion bits on something the size of your fingertip.”
Another advantage of the NRAM device will be its superior speed. Nantero, Inc. CEO Schmergel said that NRAM will reach up to “two billion cycles per second.” The practical applications of this speed will be evident in such traits as instant booting and rebooting. Our present-day computers suffer a delay when they start because information is not retained when the machine is turned off, and the DRAM has to remember before it can run.
Also, when the chip is introduced to the markets, possibly in the very near future, the compatibility of the NRAM chip will allow a smooth transition in replacing the old chips with the new ones. Motherboard manufacturers will be using the same connectors as are currently being used and installation of the NRAM chip will be as simple as popping out the old chip and replacing it with the new.
The above reasons clearly indicate that NRAM will be a definite financial benefit to companies. The speed and compatibility factors will save time and money—which is every company’s ultimate objective.
Although technology is constantly changing and evolving, every once in a while there comes along an innovation that is so inbuilt into the foundations of technology that it becomes an integral piece of all other advancements. NRAM is one such invention. Its pros are numerous and its only con is that it’s still in the developmental stages. In the next few years, every computer, cell phone, digital camera, PDA, MP3 player, and other new electronic device will have the Nantero NRAM memory device. Look to encounter this exciting new product very soon.
References
Nantero, Inc. (2005). NRAM. (Online),
02-06-06. http://www.nantero.com/index.html
Cheung, Humphrey. (2006). Nantero to roll out Carbon Nanotube
Memory in 2007. (Online), 02-06-06. http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/02/03/nantero_cnt_memory/
Current Science and
Questions
A. Nanotube-based/Non-volatile
Random Access Memory
B. Non
Reaching Access Memory
C. Non Recording Air Module
D. None of the Above
A. Microsoft C.
Nantero
B. IBM D.
Nano Tech, Inc.
A. Hardware C. Connector
B. Storage Device D. Port
A. One Billion C. One-hundred Trillion
B. Ten Million D. One Trillion