News

posted on 21 July 2008 11:49

A Korean research team has combined DRAM and flash memory in a single memory chip called URAM, for Unified RAM, according to a report in english.chosun.com. Comining flash and DRAM attributes is becoming a technology Holy Grail.

Korea's Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) says that Professor Choi Yang-kyu of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology led the research team. It wanted to build a chip that retained its contents when memory was switched off and also had the speed of DRAM. This is to deliver high-definition video in portable intelligent video players.

So, we're told, they combined DRAM and flash in a single chip. It sounds easy but there are numberous design efforts to produce just such a combination of attributes:-

MRAM, PCM and STT-RAM to name just three.

Manufacturing URAM chips could be eased through using DRAM dsign processes, the research team thinks. Professor Choi is quoted as saying: "We expect URAM will help integrate the separate markets of personal computers and portable electronics devices because it can be used to manufacture both, whereas DRAM is used only for personal computers and flash memory for portable electronics devices."

Not a lot more here.

Korea's MEST supports a set of fundamental programmes designed to ensure Korea has a place at technology's top table in the 21st century.

^{[Martin Edwards, news writer.]}