Intel and Micron have jointly unveiled a new breakthrough memory technology called 3D XPoint that is said to revolutionize any device, application or service that needs fast access to large sets of data. The new 3D XPoint memory technology is such a breakthrough we haven’t seen such a thing since NAND was introduced back in year 1989.
“For decades, the industry has searched for ways to reduce the lag time between the processor and data to allow much faster analysis,” said Rob Crooke, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group. “This new class of non-volatile memory achieves this goal and brings game-changing performance to memory and storage solutions.”
The new 3D XPoint memory technology combines the performance, density, power, non-volatility and cost advantages of all available memory technologies on the market today but is also up to 1000 times faster and has up to 1000 times greater endurance than NAND. At the same time it is also 10 times denser than conventional memory.
The 3D XPoint memory has been built from the ground up and contains no transistors at all. The memory creates a three-dimensional checkerboard where memory cells sit at the intersection of word lines and bit lines, allowing the cells to be addressed individually. As a result, data can be written and read in small sizes, leading to faster and more efficient read/write processes.
The new memory has entered production and will be sampled later this year with select customers. Both Intel and Micron are developing individual products based on the technology.
Source: Intel