Memory Storage Technologies

Scientists Use Crystal Defects to Store Terabytes of Data in Millimeter-Sized Memory Overview: Researchers at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering have developed a revolutionary ultra-dense data storage method, using single-atom defects in crystals to encode information. By leveraging missing atoms within a crystal structure, they have successfully stored terabytes of digital data within a cube just one millimeter in size. This breakthrough overcomes the physical limitations of traditional storage technologies and could significantly impact data centers, computing, and next-generation memory devices. How It Works: • Crystal Defect Encoding: The technology utilizes missing atoms (defects) in a crystal lattice to represent binary data (1s and 0s), much like how transistors function in conventional memory. • Extreme Data Density: The atomic-scale manipulation of defects allows terabytes of information to be packed into a tiny physical space. • Not Quantum, but Inspired by Quantum Research: While not directly a quantum computing technology, the approach builds upon principles from solid-state physics and quantum material research. Advantages Over Traditional Storage: • Massive Storage Capacity in Tiny Spaces: This method dramatically increases memory density, potentially revolutionizing hard drives, flash storage, and data centers. • Long-Term Data Retention: Crystal-based storage could last significantly longer than traditional silicon-based methods, reducing data degradation over time. • Lower Energy Consumption: The new technique could be more energy-efficient than current magnetic and flash memory technologies, reducing the environmental footprint of large-scale data storage. Potential Applications: • Ultra-Compact Data Centers: Massive datasets could be stored in millimeter-sized chips, reducing the need for large physical server farms. • High-End Consumer Electronics: Future smartphones and computers could house enormous storage capacities in minimal space. • Space and Military Applications: The technology’s durability and efficiency make it ideal for satellite storage, aerospace missions, and secure military systems. Conclusion: This crystal-based memory breakthrough represents a major leap forward in data storage technology, enabling terabyte-scale capacity within microscopic spaces. As researchers continue refining the method, ultra-dense, energy-efficient, and long-lasting storage solutions could soon transform how data is stored and accessed globally. This development has the potential to reshape the future of computing, AI, and cloud infrastructure, pushing the limits of storage density and efficiency far beyond what current technologies allow.

⚡ Low-Power Magnetoresistive Memories Are Here ⚡ Researchers have found a way to reduce power consumption in memory writing and laid the groundwork for ultra-efficient spintronic devices. They did it by creating a multiferroic heterostructure that achieves a giant converse magnetoelectric (CME) effect and a non-volatile binary state at zero electric field. 🤓 Geek Mode At the heart of this advancement lies a highly oriented (422) Co₂FeSi layer on a piezoelectric PMN-PT substrate, enhanced by a vanadium (V) ultra-thin layer. This design allows the artificial tuning of magnetic anisotropy by manipulating layer thicknesses, which is crucial for the CME effect. Key outcomes include a CME coupling coefficient exceeding 10⁻⁵ s m⁻¹, (surpassing many prior efforts) and reliable binary magnetic states even at zero applied electric fields. This control is achieved without external magnetic fields, opening pathways for scalable and energy-efficient MRAM technologies 💼 Opportunity for VCs This innovation has clear commercial applications in low-power data storage. MRAM's potential is immense, from consumer electronics to industrial applications in AI and IoT. The ability to finely tune materials at an atomic scale is a differentiator—one that VCs looking for platform-level innovations should not overlook. Imagine scaling this tech for edge devices, AI accelerators, or even neuromorphic systems. The field is ripe for startups and collaborations! 🌏 Humanity-level Impact Memory technologies like MRAM are critical to the future of computation and AI. By slashing power requirements, this advancement contributes to greener electronics, addressing the growing environmental footprint of data centers and consumer devices. Most importantly, the robust and non-volatile nature of this memory unlocks applications in harsh environments, from ocean to space. Innovation thrives where science meets scalability, and this is how the next wave of spintronics begins! 📄 Original paper: https://lnkd.in/gySViE77 #DeepTech #Spintronics #EnergyEfficiency #VCOpportunities

The future of storage is starting to look a lot more like stone than silicon. This week, Cerabyte , a startup in Munich, just got investment from IQT (In-Q-Tel). Cerabyte is creating a new form of data storage, meant to last not decades, but centuries. That caught my attention. Cerabyte is writing data onto ceramic tablets using femtosecond lasers. No electricity required to preserve it, no degradation over time. And it's fast—retrieval takes seconds, not hours. Its robotic, cold-storage system could last 1,000 years. It’s easy to think storage is a solved problem. But most systems today require constant power, regular migration, and careful upkeep to avoid loss. Even LTO tape, the most durable mainstream option, has a lifespan of 5 to 10 years before needing to be replaced. That doesn’t work when you’re storing things like: - Classified government data (~50-year access requirements), - Scientific records (need to be reproducible decades later), or - AI training sets (must be preserved for retraining, audits, or compliance down the line). What's cool about Cerabyte's approach is that they aren’t just chasing speed or scale. They’re going after something we’ve mostly ignored: permanence. Not a replacement for the cloud or tape, but a new layer beneath both—built for the kind of data you can’t afford to lose or redo. Others are working on DNA, glass, optical discs, decentralized models. I’ve been following those, too. But this one stands out because these days, we're generating more data than we can meaningfully preserve. If they succeed, we won’t be talking about storage formats. We’ll be talking about preserving the digital memory of civilization. Watching this one closely. Curious what others think. For more, check out my CipherTalk post (linked in the comments below).

‼️Micron Technology Retires DDR4: Industry Shift and Market Readiness‼️ ➡️Micron, alongside Samsung Semiconductor and SK hynix—the world’s top three DRAM manufacturers—has confirmed a strategic shift away from DDR4 memory production, accelerating the industry's move toward advanced memory technologies like DDR5 and high-bandwidth memory (HBM).  ➡️This transition comes as all three companies respond to declining profitability in the DDR4 segment and intensifying competition from Chinese manufacturers, notably ChangXin Memory Technologies, Inc. (CXMT) and Fujian Jinhua, which have ramped up DDR4 output and aggressively slashed prices. 1️⃣Timeline and Details of Discontinuation Samsung: Orders for DDR4 chips end in early June 2025, with final shipments for 8GB and 16GB modules expected by December 2025.  Micron: Has begun phasing out older DDR4 server modules, with a clear focus on reallocating resources to DDR5 and HBM3. SK Hynix: Is reducing DDR4 output to just 20% of its total memory production, following a similar end-of-life (EOL) schedule as Samsung. 2️⃣Profitability: The influx of low-cost DDR4 from Chinese competitors has compressed margins, making DDR4 production less attractive for the leading DRAM makers. 3️⃣Market Focus: There’s a strategic pivot to higher-margin products like DDR5, LPDDR5, and especially HBM, which are in high demand for AI, cloud computing, and data center applications. 4️⃣Technological Advancement: The industry is prioritizing advanced process nodes (1a and 1b nm) for newer memory types, leaving older DDR4 lines obsolete. Market Readiness and Concerns 5️⃣Supply Gap: As the big three DRAM makers exit DDR4, supply constraints are expected in the second half of 2025, especially for certain capacities (e.g., 16GB 1y nm chips), potentially leading to price volatility and sourcing challenges for OEMs and module makers. Chinese and Taiwanese Manufacturers: Chinese firms (CXMT, Fujian Jinhua) are rapidly increasing DDR4 output, but concerns remain about their ability to meet global demand and about quality/reliability for some customers.  Taiwanese companies like Nanya Technology and Winbond are expected to partially fill the gap but only produce specialized DRAM in relatively low volumes, which may not suffice for mass-market needs. 6️⃣Pricing and Geopolitical Factors Price Volatility: The transition has already led to a 10% price jump in DDR4, as companies stockpile in anticipation of shortages. #interesting #technology #innovation #semiconductor #ai Rogério Moreira Juan Barrera Pavel Navarrete Vicente Loyola ASML Samsung Semiconductor Winbond SK hynix TSMC TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED Lam Research Nanya Technology Dell Technologies Hewlett Packard Enterprise Lenovo Samsung Electronics Microsoft Azure CyrusOne ST Telemedia Global Data Centres Vantage Data Centers Amazon Web Services (AWS) Equinix Digital Reality, Inc. Nintendo Microsoft Xbox Series X Sony Play Station

9 out 10 stored bytes live on HDDs, not flash. Will the gap ever close? The arms race between magnetic (HAMR) and flash media (QLC/PLC) is tight; both are cutting price per TB at nearly the same rate! Here’s how it’s shaping up. — Both ideologies continuously advance in completely different scientific domains. It sounds like alien technology. HAMR, found in modern HDDs, uses a tiny on-platter laser, along with a Plasmonic near-field transducer to increase areal density. — Meanwhile, on the SSD side, 3D Layer NAND dominates. SK Hynix is already shipping 321-layer QLC, Samsung prototypes cross over 400 layers. Each generational improvement cuts die costs by 20%. That said, CapEx is brutal; the advances usually require new fabs.  It’s common in the NAND industry to delay wafer starts to protect margins during price crashes. — Dr. Coughlin, a digital storage analyst, releases quarterly 150+ page reports forecasting disk capacities out to 2030. The average sales price of HDDs spiked from 2023-2025; indicating a massive demand surge not seen since the late 90s. He states there is “no sign of SSDs replacing nearline, mass-capacity HDDs in any significant way at all.”  In other words, for the cost-per-bit conscience, don’t expect to replace your NAS with an all-flash setup anytime soon, and maybe ever!

DNA data storage is coming for all of your bits (but now with an epigenetic spin)! Deoxyribonucleic acid, which we lovingly refer to as DNA, is the ultimate biological data storage material. It stores most of the information required for us to function within its sequences of adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine! And because DNA is so small, it has been the envy of computer scientists who see it as a potential solution to our impending data storage dilemma. We’re currently creating over 400 terabytes (TB) of data a day. A typical 15 TB data storage tape weighs 200 grams which comes out to roughly 0.075 TB per gram. DNA can store 215 Petabytes (PB) per gram. A PB is equal to 1000 TB. So, DNA can store *checks math* 13,333 times more data than a typical tape drive! You also might remember that the DNA bases themselves don’t provide all of the data that’s required for our cells to function. There’s a lot of information encoded in the non-sequence based parts of our DNA and epigenetic modifications to DNA bases could potentially be used for data storage! And because sequencers from PacBio and Oxford Nanopore can natively read epigenetic modifications now, we have high quality epigenetic data retrievers at our disposal! In the figure below, the researchers behind this week’s paper leveraged an additional emerging technology to perform this task: DNA self-assembly. a) They used 24 base pair DNA ‘bricks’ to represent binary 1 or 0 codes and the self-assembly (hybridization) of these methylated (1) or unmethylated (0) bricks to a complementary template is how they began the process of encoding the data into the template b) shows they can detect size and methylation differences of template hybridized bricks on a native gel c) explains how a DNA methyltransferase (DMNT1) is used to copy the methylation signal from the bricks to the template d) highlights how methylation aware sequencing of the methylated template is used to read back the encoded data e) is a graph of the final consensus calls for the methylation status of each brick (‘DNA’ was spelled in binary code) f) displays the error of the methylation calls (no methylation has much lower error than methylation calls) The researchers went on to show they could store complicated information within this ‘epi-bit’ system, storing an image of a tiger, a panda, and encoding large blocks of text. However, this system wasn’t perfect and in the worst case had an error rate at data retrieval of nearly 10%. Errors can be introduced in multiple places including during encoding, storage (methylation signals can be lost), and errors during sequencing. But, as a proof-of-concept, it’s quite exciting to see how we might finally be able to use DNA to efficiently and cost effectively store more than just biological data! ### Zhang C, et al. 2024. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08040-5 --- Want to see this sooner? Sign up for my newsletter at my website ⬆️

Last week, I said MRAM will eat DRAM and Flash. Here's the deeper reason why. DRAM and NAND are nearing their physical and economic limits. AI, edge, and low-power systems demand faster, non-volatile memory. MRAM fits the bill—and major players like Samsung, Intel, and Everspin Technologies are betting big. Analyst reports from Gartner and Yole call MRAM a leading disruptor, alongside ReRAM and PCM. Yes, MRAM is still costly for large-scale use. Yes, DRAM/NAND have deep-rooted ecosystems. But this is how disruption starts. Either MRAM scales up and redefines the stack —or— We move to a hybrid future: DRAM + MRAM + NAND + emerging layers. My bet? MRAM is no longer experimental. It’s the start of a new memory era—and those who invest early will shape it. Does MRAM replace or coexist? #MRAM #FutureOfMemory #Semiconductors #AIHardware