SK Hynix has announced a joint development and technology licensing agreement with IBM. The pair will collaborate on developing phase-change RAM (PCRAM) products, which will be manufactured by Hynix.

IBM researchers in June 2011 demonstrated a reliable multi-bit, phase-change memory technology that would allow computers and servers to boot instantaneously and significantly enhance the overall performance of IT systems. Combining IBM's expertise in such disciplines with Hynix's cutting-edge manufacturing process optimization and cost competitiveness will help to accelerate the commercialization of PCRAM technology, Hynix noted.

Hynix revealed that since the inception of PCRAM development in 2007, the firm continued to build its foundation and successfully developed 40nm-class 1Gb PCRAM.

"Phase-change memory technology has the potential to enable a new class of low-cost, high-performance memory technologies for consumer devices, cloud computing, data storage and other enterprise applications," said TC Chen, IBM Fellow and VP of Science & Technology for IBM Research. "Working with SK Hynix will speed the development and production of PCRAM devices based on our breakthrough multi-bit, phase-change memory technology."

PCRAM is a type of non-volatile random-access memory that exploits the property of resistance in crystalline and amorphous states to store data. The state of resistance can remain intact even in a condition with no power. PCRAM's performance is expected to surpass that of today's NAND flash by 100 fold while enhancing durability by 1,000 fold, and PCRAM will operate with low power like DRAM. With relatively simpler structure compared to other memory products, PCRAM will drive the production cost down considerably.

PCRAM may be able to reshape the landscape of the memory industry by introducing storage-class memory (SCM), a promising next generation memory class, designed to boost performance and reduce power consumption for enterprise servers. PCRAM will bridge a gap between the current DRAM and SSD as it takes the role of a buffer memory.