Bill Gervasi

Carbon nanotube memory (NRAM) promises to be that disruptive memory you’ve dreamed about: DRAM class performance in a non-volatile memory. Across all applications, from SSD through NVDIMM, and from consumer and IoT through enterprise level architectures, replacing not only all volatile memory but also the energy store subsystems of supercapacitors and batteries, NRAM is the inflection point for high performance, low power, low weight, ultra-small solutions.

Nantero NRAM™ is a new class of memory with the potential to add non-volatility to existing RAM applications. It can be arranged in a crosspoint structure for large memories or a 1T-nR arrangement for smaller faster arrays, in standalone devices or as embedded RAM. NRAM uses carbon nanotubes in a dielectric-free structure to achieve unlimited write endurance. While there are obvious advantages to this class of device, including replacing DRAM in storage devices, there are a number of less obvious changes to how designers approach the data storage hierarchy.

A variety of persistent memory technologies with DRAM-class performance, known as “memory class storage” or “MCS”, have appeared on the horizon. MCS will change the architecture of future computing systems. These technologies include carbon nanotube memory, phase change memory, magnetic spin memory, and resistive memory, and each has unique characteristics that can complicate systems designed to exploit them.

A generation of new non-volatile memories (NVMs) potentially capable of working with, or replacing, SDRAM are in design now. Memory controller designers will want to exploit the advantages of these new memories, such as zero-power standby and the elimination of content refresh. JEDEC is in the process of defining the DDR5 NVRAM specification, the first of the detailed definitions of these new NVMs, as an enablement for systems designers to learn about and be ready for the coming wave.

Learning Objectives

The next generation of cars will require significant improvements in data management. Information for drive management, sensors, network connectivity, high resolution displays, security, in-car entertainment, and other sources will require a rethinking of storage devices. This presentation details efforts under way in JEDEC to define a new Automotive SSD standard to address these new requirements.

Learning Objectives

solid state storage,automotive applications,reliability,security

Data persistence on CXL is an essential enabler toward the goal of instant-on processing. DRAM class performance combined with non-volatility on CXL enables a new class of computing architectures that can exploit these features and solve real-world bottlenecks for system performance, data reliability, and recovery from power failures. New authentication methods also enhance the security of server data in a world of cyberattacks.

The next generation of automobiles moves to the adoption of PCIe for data communications in vehicles, and the JEDEC Automotive SSD solution enables a high performance, high reliability solution for this shared centralized storage. Features such as SR/IOV highlight the requirements of these computers on wheels with multiple SoC functions for vehicle control, sensors, communications, entertainment, and artificial intelligence.