Samsung To Ship Chip Package With Phase-Change Memory

angry tapir writes "Samsung Electronics will ship a multichip package later this quarter for smartphones that will include phase-change memory (PCM), an emerging technology that could ultimately replace memory types like NOR flash. Samsung's announcement is significant because it marks the first PCM product to be available as part of a multichip package. PCM uses a glass-like material that can change from multiple states to crystalline forms as its atoms are rearranged."

Comments

Re:Electrical load limit?

[dgatwood]

Does the quoted bit mean that there is an upper limit on how fast you can write to the chip? Or is the total electrical current pulled for max protocol speed lower than the failure point of the chips? Will this generate excess heat? I'd imagine small chips would heat up fast too, since the writes would be more concentrated (lower memory bits to bits able to be written per second ratio.

I think that this translates to "as your laptop gets older, the reduced capacity of your battery will be exacerbated by your mass storage hardware drawing more current during writes." :-)