Ovonic Unified Memory -Advanced Memory Technology

Ovonic unified memory (OUM) is an advanced memory technology that uses a chalcogenide alloy (GeSbTe).The alloy has two states: a high resistance amorphous state and a low resistance polycrystalline state. These states are used for the representation of reset and set states respectively. The performance and attributes of the memory make it an attractive alternative to flash memory and potentially competitive with the existing non volatile memory technology.

Key advantages of OUM

The following are the key advantages of OUM:

1. Endurance
2. Read‐write performance
3. Low programming energy
4. Process simplicity
5. Cost
6. CMOS embeddability
7. Scalability

Write endurance is competitive with other potential non volatile memory technology, is superior to Flash. Read endurance is unlimited. The write/read performance is comparable to DRAM. The OUM technology offers overwrite capablility, and bit/byte data can be written randomly with no block erase required. Scaling is a key advantage of OUM.

Write speed and write energy both scales with programmed volume. Its low voltage operation is compatible with continued CMOS feature and power supply scaling. Low voltage operation and short programming pulse widths yield low energy operation for the OUM, a key metric for mobile portable applications.

Non volatile OUM with fast read and write speeds, high endurance, low voltage/low energy operation, ease of integration and competitive cost structure is suitable for ultra high density ,stand alone and embedded memory applications. These attributes make OUM an attractive alternative to flash memory technology and potentially competitive with volatile memory technologies.