Numonyx to add MLC capability to memory tech

LONDON, UK: Numonyx BV, the non-volatile memory supplier, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland, has said it is working on adding multi-level cell (MLC) capability to its phase-change memory technology.

According to Paolo Cappelletti, vice-president (technology development) of Numonyx BV, the adding of multi-level cell is an alternative technology that allows planes of phase-change memory to be stacked. This could be a better way to add memory capacity on the same footprint, Cappelletti said.

Numonyx is working on the stacking approach with Intel Corporation, its parent company.

In a joint statement, Numonyx BV and Intel Corporation said they are working on the multi-layer technology – which includes a non-memory effect phase-change select transistor (PCMS). The researchers at the two companies used a 64-megabit test-chip to demonstrate a vertically integrated memory cell, which consists of one PCM element layered with an ovonic threshold switch (OTS) in a cross-point array.

The non-memory effect phase-change switch, Paolo Cappelletti says, is “the best select device we have seen not in silicon.” At the same time, the multi-layer memory, though attractive, is still in the development stage and does not have as yet a clear point of introduction on the PCM technology road-map, Cappelletti adds.

According to him, the PCM does not have to compete with high-capacity NAND flash memory since NAND flash memory already has achieved 32-Gbit capacity in a 30-nm process technology.