Samsung bets big on phase change memory

Phase-change memory exploits the properties of chalcogenide glass

Chip makers Samsung and Numonyx have launched a new project to develop phase change memory chips.

The companies will co-develop hardware and software to allow companies to transition to phase change memory hardware in devices such as mobile handsets, embedded systems and high-performance computing hardware.

Phase change memory has been touted by Intel and others as an eventual replacement for Flash memory, owing to its faster performance and lower energy consumption. The chips store data by changing the physical state of a small chalcogenide glass cell.

The new project intends to help developers better adapt designs to take advantage of the phase change chips. Samsung and Numonyx plan to develop hardware and software to help integrate phase change memory.

"Our joint efforts with Numonyx will enable a more secure path for introducing phase change memory into the mobile environment," said SeiJin Kim, vice president of mobile memory technology planning and enabling at Samsung Electronics.

"We anticipate that phase change memory will eventually be a major addition to our family of memory products, that will nicely complement our other mobile memory solutions and ultimately increase our leadership in the industry."