Update: PCM found in handset

12/2/2010 8:15 AM EST

Looks like a battery guzzler, maybe 1 mA write current?

12/2/2010 9:20 AM EST

Really? How come UBM TechInsights is so shy and cannot reveal the model number of the handset? And what exactly is KPS1N15EZA? A prototype?

Samsung's "official" PRAM prototype was labeled KPS1215EZM, and the "commercial" PRAM MCPs were labeled K571228ACM and K571229ACM.

12/2/2010 10:23 AM EST

@Volatile Memory - the article states that the DIE had the number KPS1N15EZA, often, dies will have a different part number that the actual part number. At least that's been the case in my experience.

12/2/2010 12:28 PM EST

Hi Peter,

The phone's not that much of a secret - the PCM chip is in a Samsung GT-E550 slider phone - some guy unlocked the USB and identified the memory part number, which let us track it down.

Dick

12/2/2010 1:23 PM EST

Try the Monte Slider (aka the E2550). We actually had purchased two of these phones (based upon the thread that helped us track it down) One phone came from Europe and one came from N. America. The phone from Europe had NOR and UTRAM and the North American phone which contained the PRAM and UTRAM.

Jim

12/2/2010 4:34 PM EST

Sorry for the typo,
guys!

BHD

12/2/2010 5:16 PM EST

Volatile Memory: why so angry?
its just news about a memory device ?
you seem furious ? are you a competitor? or just short a stock

12/3/2010 1:29 AM EST

volatile Memory: who is lying to you. Just because you dont seem to get all the info you need, doesnt make it that somebody is lying to you.

12/3/2010 5:24 AM EST

Interesting and I commend these guys that are tearing parts. Good job.

12/3/2010 9:15 AM EST

I hope Chipworks or UBM Techinsights can tell us if PCM or NOR saves more area OUTSIDE the array, by requiring less error correcting logic. I estimate 512 million PCM cells each 125 nm X 125 nm gives 8 sq. mm. while the K571229ACM MCP is around 10x larger than this.

12/3/2010 4:24 PM EST

In order to try and clarify this all, we took some time today to try and explain the challenges of finding PCM. Follow link to our blog with images: http://www.chipworks.com/en/technical-competitive-analysis/resources/technology-blog/2010/12/finding-phase-change-memory-%E2%80%93-it%E2%80%99s-the-luck-of-the-draw/

12/4/2010 10:45 AM EST

As most of the readers here know, (irrespective of the alleged number, my personal correspondence in tray would suggest many more than eight) my interest is in the scaling potential of PCM.
One old repackaged PCM chip in one phone is like the one swallow in Spring it does not a Summer make.
However, to me there is something that is not quite right about this sudden appearance of the PCM chip in one phone and the way it was discovered.Questions should be asked.
My first thought it is some sort of marketing plant, as part of the build up to ISSCC2011 and the hoped for post-conference product announcement. Perhaps the Samsung 1G-bit PCM ISSCC2011 paper says something like “…PCM devices already deployed in the field…”
Or is it just some more “ground bait” as was the MCP, to encourage others to take the plunge into mobile PCM, the former having had few takers. Maybe it is to save face after the 30nm PCM is "imminent" statement from Samsung in April 2010 remains unfulfilled.
My second thought it is a clever covert PCM field test, they will good reliability results. If they have problems they will get the phone back for analysis and quickly replace it with the NOR version.
Without any difference in specification for the phones, PCM over NOR, why would anyone design a phone using PCM when they are able to use a well-established Flash NOR product. One very good reason would be for a covert field test and I cannot think of many others.
I suppose it could be they are making a memory device change over and the Teardown purchase just lucked out with one of the new PCM based phones. That does not make sense either. Once a product design is established and qualification costs are out of the way why mess around with it? If it is real why no public announcement of the PCM achievement?
If the E2550 PCM saga turns out to be just a marketing plant, then I think it will rate alongside the Numonyx secret PCM data sheet as a piece of corporate stupidity.

12/4/2010 10:34 PM EST

Volatile Memory: Thank-you for the enlightenment! I read the ChipWorks blog, and, at first, I thought it was a solid piece of reverse engineering. I did not look closely enough to catch all the errors that you pointed out. I also didn’t consider the possibility that they were working on a counterfeit phone.
After I read your post, I then came across Ron Neale’s comments, where he points out that the PCM chip may be a ploy on the part of Samsung to lure other companies into investing in a technology that doesn’t scale. True cunning on the part of Samsung! Almost unbelievable.
When the news first came out about PCM being in a commercial product, I was disappointed, to say the least. I’ve been telling all my computer-geek friends that PCM is not a viable technology. Slow write speeds on serial parts, high writing current for several nanoseconds per write, huge chip size, inability to scale, et cetera. I, for one, hate to admit when I am wrong. So I’m greatly relieved to see that this was a counterfeit phone and that the motives for Samsung releasing the part in the first place was to trick other companies into investing in the wrong technologies. Good stuff. Thank you for helping me to save face with my computer-geek friends.

12/4/2010 11:25 PM EST

How about the phase change memory chip from Micron used in Renesas's microcontroller?

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/renesas-electronics-america-launches-rx62n-demonstration-kit-with-connectivity-feature-for-industrial-applications-2010-10-06

"The non-volatile NP5Q128A13ESFC0E Micron Technology Phase Change Memory provides 128 Mb of serial flash to help meet demands for increased bandwidth and decreased power consumption."

Also from http://am.renesas.com/media/products/tools/introductory_evaluation_tools/renesas_demo_kits/yrdkrx62n/child_folder/reu10b0009_YRDKRX62N_user_manual.pdf

"6.4. Micron Serial Flash
A Micron Phase Change Memory (PCM) serial flash is provided for user non-volatile storage. PCM memory has greater write endurance than standard serial flash. This part, NP5Q128A13ESFC0E, is 128 megabit and is accessed by the SPI Bus."

12/5/2010 9:56 AM EST

I need to make a correction to my piece above. The sentence on the possibility of a covert field test should read. ****My second thought is if it is a clever covert PCM field test, they will get a useful set reliability field test results.*****.
It was not my intention to suggest they would necessarily be good, but they will certainly be useful. Sorry about that and apologies to readers.

12/5/2010 5:20 PM EST

Peter--this article was picked up by the Wall Street Journal's "Best of the Web Today" column, but alas, not for its content, but for the word-play of the headline. See:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703989004575652783279885908.html
Go about 3/4 down,under the heading:
"It's Always in the Last Place You Look"
I wonder who sent it in to them--has to besomeone who both reads EET AND sends things to this popular daily column.--Bill S

12/5/2010 5:35 PM EST

This has got to be one of the most fascinating and controversial discussions ever on EE Times!

Never again should EEs doubt the power of social media.

12/6/2010 12:15 PM EST

When a Huge hedgefund And competing companies have have tons of money to loose if PCM suceeds of course you will see all of these"Experts" come out to beat it up and spread the lies ..

good luck ecd.fan keep it up .ooops i mean "virtual memory "

the truth shall set you free

12/8/2010 5:37 PM EST

Somobody just brought to my attention an interesting document prepared by Samsung on October 4th, 2010:

http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/support/brochures/downloads/memory/MobileMemory_brochure.pdf

Page 3 states: "Samsung’s 512Gb PRAM is combined with Mobile DRAM to deliver performance three times faster than NOR-based MCPs, making it ideal to quickly process large-size multimedia
files."

The "three times faster" is obviously a lie, but hard to prove given that the only PRAM chip in a cell phone has been destroyed.

However, it is obvious that Samsung lied about PRAM being 512Gb. It is just 512Mb. Samsung exaggerated by a factor of 1024x.

And, apparently, nobody has noticed so far. People must be busy installing those chips into fake phones instead of reading marketing materials.

Great job, Samsung!

12/10/2010 9:48 PM EST

The comments on this column have made for about the most entertaining technology read I can remember. Great job bringing these out Peter.

I don't think there is much more to add to the comments especially when people like RG Neale have posted here (not to mention his comprehensive series of articles on PCM scaling). But I did add my own two cents in my last column:
http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-blogs/other/4211398/-IEDM--A-perspective-from-afar
If you want to help me with entertainment value, please spread some of your love over there.

12/19/2010 2:47 PM EST

Well, I am now a proud owner of a brand-new, commercial Samsung E2550 bought in Singapore. It contains NOR Flash, of course, and no absolutely no PRAM MCP. For those on the hunt for the non-commercial Samsung e2550 handsets that allegedly contain the PRAM MCP, here is a method to quickly identify an "interesting phone" - open the battery compartment, remove the battery, and look above the SIM card placeholder - if the solder bridge is next to the E2550 mark, then this is the regular commercial Samsung phone with NOR Flash in it, if it is next to the E2550L mark, then you MAY have a handset with PRAM MCP. Good hunting! Although, I am now convinced that Samsung simply planted only a handful non-commercial units for a marketing stunt.