HP Backs Memristor Mass Production

neo12 writes with news that Hewlett-Packard is teaming with Hynix Semiconductor, the world's second-largest producer of memory chips, to mass produce memristors for the first time. Quoting the BBC: "HP says the first memristors should be widely available in about three years. The devices started as a theoretical prediction in 1971 but HP's demonstration and publication of a real working device has put them on a possible roadmap to replace memory chips or even hard drives. ... Steve Furber, professor of computer engineering at the University of Manchester, explained that the potential benefits lie in the fact that memristors are 'much simpler in principle than transistors. Because they are formed as a film between two wires, they don't have to be implanted into the silicon surface — as do transistors, which form the storage locations in Flash — so they could be built in layers in 3D,' he told BBC News. 'Of course, the devil is in the detail, and I don't think the manufacturing challenges have been fully exposed yet.'"

Comments

Re:Haven't heard of this one

[Pojut]

In my defense, I didn't ask for an explanation in my OP, just the opinion of fellow slashdotters on whether this technology was just talk, or if it actually was a big deal.

Re:Haven't heard of this one

[OzPeter]

Dude, people who can take ..

Can't. Resist. Feeding. Troll. Don't. Call. Me. Dude.

One question

[halfaperson]

Because they are formed as a film between two wires, they don't have to be implanted into the silicon surface — as do transistors, which form the storage locations in Flash — so they could be built in layers in 3D

Cool, but will they require special glasses?

Re:Where will the work be done?

[Lifyre]

It used to be that we would only buy American. Then American came to mean assembled in America and it became moot. I would LOVE to see companies that do business with the federal governments and especially the defense and civil protection branches be forced to produce the products on American soil from bottom to top. It may cost more but it would be justified by the improved security and availability. Aditionally it would encourage them to produce more here to reduce costs, etc...

jm2c

Re:Just big chips?

[shaitand]

"Will that ever be the came"

s/came/case/;

Re:Haven't heard of this one

[somersault]

There have been articles about these before on Slashdot actually, and GP is right that you could have Googled to find the answer to your questions, no matter who they were directed at.

Still, first post is first post!

Re:offtopic aside

[maxwell demon]

Yeah, it's a strange thing that psychotherapists put their patients on a couch. They should know that people lie there. So why do they expect to get any truthful answer? :-)