Flash memory

Flash memory is nonvolatile semiconductor storage that retains data without power and can be electrically erased and rewritten in blocks.

Floating-gate MOSFET: A transistor that stores charge on an electrically isolated gate to represent information. Many flash cells encode data by measuring charge trapped on this gate.
MOSFET: A transistor whose current is controlled by voltage applied to an insulated gate. Flash cells adapt this transistor structure to retain charge after power is removed.
Solid-state drive: A data-storage device that uses solid-state memory rather than spinning magnetic disks. Most modern SSDs use NAND flash as their storage medium.
Dynamic random-access memory: Volatile memory that stores each bit as charge in a capacitor and must be refreshed. DRAM is much faster for working data but loses contents without power.
Fujio Masuoka: A Japanese engineer credited with inventing flash memory while working at Toshiba. Masuoka developed the technology that Toshiba presented in the 1980s.
Charge-trap flash: Flash memory that stores electrons in an insulating trapping layer rather than a conductive floating gate. It uses a different charge-storage structure from traditional floating-gate cells.
Semiconductor memory: Electronic data storage built from semiconductor devices. Flash is one nonvolatile member of this broader memory family.
USB flash drive: A portable data-storage device combining flash memory with a USB interface. It packages flash storage for removable file transfer.
Static random-access memory: Volatile memory that stores bits in transistor circuits without periodic refresh. SRAM offers faster access than flash but requires power to retain data.
Toshiba: A Japanese technology and electronics company founded in 1875. Toshiba developed and introduced flash memory through Masuoka’s work.

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