Faster than SRAM! New flash memory tech from China is millions of times faster than NAND rivals from US, Japan or Korea

• Chinese researchers have developed super-fast non volatile flash memory
• Graphene channel enables 400 picosecond write speed and persistent storage
• “PoX” device targets AI bottlenecks with low power, high speed performance

A research team in China has developed what claims is the fastest reported non-volatile semiconductor memory device to date, with a write speed of one bit every 400 picoseconds.

The unfortunately named “PoX” (Phase-change Oxide), is a two-dimensional graphene-channel flash device developed at Fudan University in Shanghai.

The team built the device using a Dirac graphene channel combined with a charge-trapping stack. It operates faster than the system-level access times typically associated with volatile memory types like SRAM and DRAM, which usually fall between 1 and 10 nanoseconds. A picosecond is one-thousandth of a nanosecond.

Paving the way for its future applications

Volatile memory like SRAM and DRAM offers high speed but loses data when power is removed. Non-volatile flash retains data without power but tends to operate at higher latencies, often in the tens of microseconds at the NAND level. This makes it less suited for low-latency workloads such as AI inference. The PoX device aims to bridge that gap by combining speed and persistent storage.

The graphene-based device uses a two-dimensional hot-carrier injection mechanism. Its thin-body structure enhances horizontal electric fields, improving carrier acceleration and injection efficiency. At 5V, it achieved write speeds of 400ps and maintained performance over 5.5 million cycles. Long-term retention tests showed data stability over a simulated 10-year period.

“By using AI algorithms to optimize process testing conditions, we have significantly advanced this innovation and paved the way for its future applications,” said Zhou Peng, lead researcher of the study.

“Our technology breakthrough is expected to not only reshape the global storage technology landscape, drive industrial upgrades, and foster new application scenarios, but also provide robust support for China to lead in relevant fields.”

Liu Chunsen, also involved in the research, said the team has created a fully functional chip and now aims to integrate it into existing devices.

“The next step involves integrating it into existing smartphones and computers,” he said.

“This way, when deploying local models, we will no longer encounter bottlenecks such as lagging and heating caused by existing storage technology.”

Via Nature

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Wayne Williams is a freelancer writing news for TechRadar Pro. He has been writing about computers, technology, and the web for 30 years. In that time he wrote for most of the UK’s PC magazines, and launched, edited and published a number of them too.