Knowra Phase-change memory Phase-change memory Phase-change memory is nonvolatile computer memory that stores data by switching a material between amorphous and crystalline states with different electrical resistance.
Chalcogenide glass : A glass containing chalcogen elements such as sulfur, selenium, or tellurium, often used in phase-change materials. Chalcogenide alloys provide the reversible structural changes used to store bits.
Phase transition : A change between distinct physical states of matter, such as solid, liquid, and gas. The memory element stores information through a solid-to-solid structural transition.
Non-volatile memory : Computer memory that retains stored information without continuous electrical power. Phase-change memory belongs to this class and combines retention with electrical access.
DRAM : Volatile semiconductor memory that stores each bit as charge in a capacitor and must be periodically refreshed. DRAM is faster and widely used as working memory, but loses data without power.
Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ : A germanium-antimony-tellurium alloy widely studied as a rewritable optical and electrical phase-change material. GST became a benchmark composition for the materials underlying many phase-change memory studies.
Amorphous solid : A solid whose atoms lack the long-range periodic order found in crystals. The amorphous state generally has higher electrical resistance than the crystalline state.
Electrical resistance : The opposition a material presents to the flow of electric current. Resistance differences are the electrical signal used to represent stored data.
Storage-class memory : Persistent memory positioned between conventional memory and storage in performance, capacity, or cost. Phase-change memory has been explored as a faster persistent tier than flash storage.
NAND flash memory : Nonvolatile memory that stores data by trapping charge in transistors arranged in dense arrays. NAND flash is generally denser and cheaper per bit, while phase-change memory offers different speed and endurance tradeoffs.
Ovshinsky effect : The reversible electrical switching behavior of amorphous chalcogenide materials discovered by Stanford Ovshinsky. Ovshinsky's work established the material-switching principle behind phase-change storage.
Show all 26