IBM Infineon and Macronix cooperative development phase change memory

The company said Macronix before IBM, Infineon (Infineon) and Macronix have agreed to jointly study the phase change memory (PCM). The PCM has been studied for a long time, and it can store data through the conversion between the crystalline and amorphous. It can save the data after switching off the power supply, so it may be a long-term rival of flash memory. Although it has been studied for decades for decades, it has not yet produced commercial phase change memory.

The cooperative research program at the IBM TJ Watson research center and IBM Almaden research laboratory. Macronix said that 20-25 employees from three companies will specialize in this project. Macronix did not give a timetable, also did not disclose what material system will be studied.

STMicroelectronics (STMicroelectronics) said in a year ago, chalcogenides (chalcogenide) based on the phase-change memory material is entering the product stage.

"We believe that our cooperation on PCM not only contribute to the nonvolatile memory map is extended to the outside of the floating gate and the 2bits/cell NBit technology, and will open up new market opportunities." Macronix International Co. Ltd., President and chief executive officer Miin Wu said.