The reason given for choosing Numonyx as the name for the Intel-ST flash joint venture is that it derives from menomonics, the art of using an acronym, a word, or a phrase to help remember another word, phrase or a list. But could it also be telling us something about the future of non-volatile memory?
But Numonyx also sounds pretty like Ovonyx the name given to Stan Ovshinsky’s company which pioneered ovonics unified memory (OUM), the use of chalcogenide materials to make phase change memories.
Intel and ST combined their research into OUM last year, have each produced 128Mbit chips with technology licensed from Ovonyx, and have now handed the activity over to Numonyx. So the name might suggest the jv’s confidence that OUM represents the future of non-volatile flash.
Others pursuing OUM are Hitachi, Renesas, and a joint research venture by IBM, Qimonda and Macronix. But Samsung seems to be in the lead with a 512Mbit device.
As, according to some people, the thinness of oxides at 45nm will make floating gate flash impractical, it would be a smart move to name a new memory company after the new memory technology.
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