IBM is to explore the potential of a new type of solid state memory which it has dubbed “Racetrack Memory".
It is working with Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to study new nanomaterials and structures for the non-volatile memory technology.
“Racetrack Memory is an exciting and highly innovative concept that builds upon IBM's significant accomplishments in the research and development of nanomaterials and nanodevices based on the manipulation of spin-polarized electrical current,” said Dr. T.C. Chen, IBM Fellow and v-p, science & technology, IBM Research.
This is not a semiconductor memory nor is it a disk drive. The non-volatile memory technology gets its name from the fact that the data "races" around a nanowire "track".
The result is a magnetics-based storage device with no moving parts, as in the traditional disk drive. The example IBM gives is a handheld device such as an MP3 player storing around 500,000 songs or around 3,500 movies, 100 times more than is possible today.
Racetrack Memory was conceived by IBM Fellow Dr. Stuart Parkin at IBM.
In April of this year, IBM announced a milestone in its Racetrack Memory research.