Numonyx, Samsung co-operate on phase-change memory

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Creating common hardware and software compatibility for PCM products should help simplify designs and shorten development time and provide systems companies with confidence to purchase because of the availability of a second-source, said Ed Doller, chief technology officer of Numonyx.

"Although we are working with existing standards there is a lot of room for interpretation. We are in close conversation with Samsung to make sure parts are pin-for-pin compatible," Doller said.

Doller continued Numonyx has silicon of the 45-nm 1-Gbit memory internally and the chip is in "debug" at present. "The cells are doing what we expect them to do," he said. The memory is set to be sampled to wireless OEMs in a progressive program during the second-half of 2009, and go into production by the end of the year, Doller said, adding: "Every OEM has their own view of the world."

"Our joint efforts with Numonyx will enable a more secure path for introducing PCM into the mobile environment," said SeiJin Kim, vice president of mobile memory technology planning and enabling at Samsung Electronics, in a statement issued by Numonyx. "We anticipate that PCM will eventually be a major addition to our family of memory products, one that will nicely complement our other mobile memory solutions and ultimately increase our leadership in the industry," he added.

"The collaboration between two memory industry leaders Numonyx and Samsung is helping to provide the kind of direction and clarity that is often needed when new technologies are introduced," said Brian Harrison, president and CEO of Numonyx, in the same statement.

Meanwhile Numonyx will continue to offer NOR flash pin-compatible phase-change memory at the 128-Mbit and eventually at the 1-Gbit capacity.

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