Non-volatile random-access memory

Non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM) is

random-access memory that retains its information when
power is turned o (non-volatile). This is in contrast
to dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and static
random-access memory (SRAM), which both maintain
data only for as long as power is applied.

to ll this niche, and many systems used a combination

of RAM and some form of ROM for these roles.

Rapid advances in semiconductor fabrication in the 1970s

led to a new generation of solid state memories that
core simply could not compete with. Relentless market forces have dramatically improved these devices over
the years, and today the low-cost and high-performance
DRAM forms the vast majority of a typical computers
main memory. However there are many roles where nonvolatility is important, either in cases where the power
will be removed for periods of time or where the constant
power needs of DRAM conicts with low-power devices.
For many years, there was no practical RAM-like device

ory, or EPROM. EPROM consists of a grid of transistors whose gate terminal (the switch) is protected by a
high-quality insulator. By pushing electrons onto the
base with the application of higher-than-normal voltage,
the electrons become trapped on the far side of the insulator, thereby permanently switching the transistor on
(1). EPROM can be re-set to the base state (all 1"s
or 0"s, depending on the design) by applying ultraviolet
light (UV). The UV photons have enough energy to push
the electrons through the insulator and return the base to a
ground state. At that point the EPROM can be re-written

Custom ROM was the earliest solution, but had the disadvantage of being able to be written to only once, when
the chip was initially designed. ROMs consist of a series
of diodes permanently wired to return the required data,
The best-known form of NVRAM memory today is ash the diodes being built in this conguration when they are
memory. Some drawbacks to ash memory include the being fabricated.
requirement to write it in larger blocks than many com- PROM improved on this design, allowing the chip to be
puters can automatically address, and the relatively lim- written electrically by the end-user. PROM consists of a
ited longevity of ash memory due to its nite number series of diodes that are initially all set to a single value,
of write-erase cycles (most consumer ash products at 1 for instance. By applying higher power than normal,
the time of writing can withstand only around 100,000 a selected diode can be burned out (like a fuse), thereby
rewrites before memory begins to deteriorate). Another permanently setting that bit to 0. PROM was a boon to
drawback is the performance limitations preventing ash companies who wished to update the contents with new
from matching the response times and, in some cases, revisions, or alternately produce a number of dierent
the random addressability oered by traditional forms of products using the same chip. For instance, PROM was
RAM. Several newer technologies are attempting to re- widely used for game console cartridges in the 1980s.
place ash in certain roles, and some even claim to be a
truly universal memory, oering the performance of the Those who required real RAM-like performance and
best SRAM devices with the non-volatility of ash.[1] To non-volatility typically have had to use conventional
date these alternatives have not yet become mainstream. RAM devices and a battery backup. This nonvolatile
BIOS memory, often called CMOS RAM or parameter
RAM, was a common solution in earlier computer systems like the original Apple Macintosh, which used a
1 Early NVRAMs
small amount of memory powered by a battery for storing basic setup information like the selected boot volume.
Early computers used a variety of memory systems, some Much larger battery backed memories are still used today
of which happened to be non-volatile, although not typ- as caches for high-speed databases, requiring a perforically by design but simply as a side-eect of their con- mance level newer NVRAM devices have not yet manstruction. The most common form of memory through aged to meet.
the 1960s was magnetic-core memory, which stored data
in the polarity of small magnets. Since the magnets held
their state even with the power removed, core memory
was also non-volatile. Such memory contrasted sharply 2 The oating-gate transistor
with memory based on active electronic devices, originally tube (or thermionic valve) based ip-op devices, A huge advance in NVRAM technology was the introand later semiconductor based ip-op (SRAM), or even duction of the oating-gate transistor, which led to the
charge storage systems (DRAM).
introduction of erasable programmable read-only mem-

3 NEWER APPROACHES

from scratch.
An improvement on EPROM, EEPROM, soon followed.
The extra E stands for electrically, referring to the ability to reset EEPROM using electricity instead of UV,
making the devices much easier to use in practice. The
bits are re-set with the application of even higher power
through the other terminals of the transistor (source and
drain). This high power pulse, in eect, sucks the electrons through the insulator, returning it to the ground
state. This process has the disadvantage of mechanically
degrading the chip, however, so memory systems based
on oating-gate transistors in general have short writelifetimes, on the order of 105 writes to any particular bit.

monly referred to as PZT. The Zr/Ti atoms in the PZT

change polarity in an electric eld, thereby producing
a binary switch. Unlike RAM devices, F-RAM retains
its data memory when power is shut o or interrupted,
due to the PZT crystal maintaining polarity. Due to this
crystal structure and how it is inuenced, F-RAM offers distinct properties from other nonvolatile memory
options, including extremely high endurance (exceeding
1016 for 3.3 V devices), ultra low power consumption
(since F-RAM does not require a charge pump like other
non-volatile memories), single-cycle write speeds, and
gamma radiation tolerance.[3] Ramtron International has
developed, produced, and licensed ferroelectric RAM
(F-RAM), and other companies that have licensed and
produced F-RAM technology include Texas Instruments,
Rohm, and Fujitsu.

One approach to overcoming the rewrite count limitation

is to have a standard SRAM where each bit is backed up
by an EEPROM bit. In normal operation the chip functions as a fast SRAM and in case of power failure the
content is quickly transferred to the EEPROM part, from
where it gets loaded back at the next power up. Such chips
3.2
were called NOVRAMs[2] by their manufacturers.
The basis of ash memory is identical to EEPROM, and
diers largely in internal layout. Flash allows its memory to be written only in blocks, which greatly simplies the internal wiring and allows for higher densities.
Memory storage density is the main determinant of cost
in most computer memory systems, and due to this ash
has evolved into one of the lowest cost solid-state memory devices available. Starting around 2000, demand for
ever-greater quantities of ash have driven manufacturers to use only the latest fabrication systems in order to
increase density as much as possible. Although fabrication limits are starting to come into play, new multi-bit
techniques appear to be able to double or quadruple the
density even at existing linewidths.

Newer approaches

Flash and EEPROMs limited write-cycles are a serious

problem for any real RAM-like role, however. In addition, the high power needed to write the cells is a problem in low-power roles, where NVRAM is often used.
The power also needs time to be built up in a device
known as a charge pump, which makes writing dramatically slower than reading, often as much as 1,000 times.
A number of new memory devices have been proposed
to address these shortcomings.

3.1

Ferroelectric RAM

To date, the only such system to enter widespread production is ferroelectric RAM, or F-RAM (sometimes referred to as FeRAM). F-RAM is a random-access memory similar in construction to DRAM but (instead of a
dielectric layer like in DRAM) contains a thin ferroelectric lm of lead zirconate titanate [Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 ], com-

Magnetoresistive RAM

Another approach to see major development eort is

magnetoresistive random-access memory, or MRAM,
which uses magnetic elements and in general operates in
a fashion similar to core, at least for the rst-generation
technology. Only one MRAM chip has entered production to date: Everspin Technologies' 4 Mbit part, which
is a rst-generation MRAM that utilizes cross-point eld
induced writing.[4] Two second-generation techniques are
currently in development: Thermal Assisted Switching
(TAS),[5] which is being developed by Crocus Technology, and spin-transfer torque (STT) on which Crocus,
Hynix, IBM, and several other companies are working.[6]
STT-MRAM appears to allow for much higher densities
than the those of the rst generation, but is lagging behind ash for the same reasons as FeRAM enormous
competitive pressures in the ash market.

3.3 Phase-change RAM

Another solid-state technology to see more than purely
experimental development is Phase-change RAM, or
PRAM. PRAM is based on the same storage mechanism
as writable CDs and DVDs, but reads them based on
their changes in electrical resistance rather than changes
in their optical properties. Considered a dark horse
for some time, in 2006 Samsung announced the availability of a 512 Mbit part, considerably higher capacity than either MRAM or FeRAM. The areal density of
these parts appears to be even higher than modern ash
devices, the lower overall storage being due to the lack
of multi-bit encoding. This announcement was followed
by one from Intel and STMicroelectronics, who demonstrated their own PRAM devices at the 2006 Intel Developer Forum in October.

3.4

Millipede memory

Perhaps one of the more innovative solutions is millipede

memory, developed by IBM. Millipede is in essence a
punched card rendered using nanotechnology in order
to dramatically increase areal density. Although it was
planned to introduce Millipede as early as 2003, unexpected problems in development delayed this until 2005,
by which point it was no longer competitive with ash. In
theory the technology oers storage densities on the order
of 1 Tbit/in, greater than even the best hard drive technologies currently in use (perpendicular recording oers
636 Gbit/in as of Dec. 2011[7] ), but future heat-assisted
magnetic recording and patterned media together could
support densities of 10 Tbit/in.[8] However, slow read
and write times for memories this large seem to limit
this technology to hard drive replacements as opposed to
high-speed RAM-like uses, although to a very large degree the same is true of ash as well.

3.5

Others

A number of more esoteric devices have been proposed,

including Nano-RAM based on carbon nanotube technology, but these are currently far from commercialization. The advantages that nanostructures such as quantum
dots, carbon nanotubes and nanowires oer over their
silicon-based predecessors include their tiny size, speed
and their density. Several concepts of molecular-scale
memory devices have been developed recently. Also seeing renewed interest is silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon
(SONOS) memory.

References

[1] "A Survey Of Architectural Approaches for Managing

Embedded DRAM and Non-volatile On-chip Caches",
Mittal et al., IEEE TPDS, 2014.
[2] X4C105 NOVRAM Features and Applications, Intersil
Application Note
[3] F-RAM Memory Technology - Pioneered by Ramtron.
Ramtron.com. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
[4] Archived June 10, 2009 at the Wayback Machine
[5] The Emergence of Practical MRAM http:
//www.crocus-technology.com/pdf/BH%20GSA%
20Article.pdf
[6] venture capital, semiconductors, aerospace, manufacturing, computers, foundries, electronics, engineering,
technology, business, nancial, software, hardware, consumer, communication, wireless, mobile, design, IC, Latest news for EEs and technical management. Eetimes.com. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
[7] Hartin, Erin (2011-08-03). Hitachi GST Ships One Terabyte Per Platter Hard Drives. Hitachi Global Storage
Technologies. Retrieved 2011-12-17.

[8] Johnston, Casey (2011-05-07). New hard drive write

method packs in one terabit per inch. Ars Technica. Retrieved 2011-12-17.

5 External links
Supporting lesystems in persistent memory,
LWN.net, September 2, 2014, by Jonathan Corbet

6 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

6.1

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