Flash+Memory+(Ali+and+Ashley)

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 * Ali Phillips and Ashley LeSage​**

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=__History__=

Flash Memory was first discovered in 1984 by [|Dr. Fujio Masuoka] while he was working for Toshiba. The name was suggested by the colleague Mr. Shoji Ariizumi because when data was erased from it, the cells reminded him of a [|camera flash]. He took his big discovery to San Jose, California for the Integrated Electronics Device Meeting. When he brought this idea to the table Intel saw a huge potential and decided to pursue this invention. Then in 1988 Intel created the first eve​r commercial NOR flash chip. There are different types of flash, one of them being NOR, another being NAND; that one began becoming more popular in 1989 by both Samsung and Toshiba. It was found that NAND flash was a lot cheaper, faster, and had a higher density. Currently the NAND flash has doubling in density every year while the price of them continues to drop. = =

How does Flash Memory Work?
The information storage device contains a grid that has columns and rows and at each intersection there is a transistor. There is a thin layer of oxide that separates the transistors from one another. One of the two transistors is called the control gate and the other is the floating gate. When the link between these two, which is called the word line, is broken the value of the cell goes from one to zero. To change the cell’s value from one to zero a process called [|Fowler-Nordheim tunneling] needs to occur. During the Fowler-Nordheim tunneling the placement of electrons in the cell are altered. When the electrons are altered data is either erased or programmed. To alter the placement an electrical charge of [|10 to 13 voltage] is applied to the floating gate. The charge comes from the bitline and enters the floating gate, emptying into a ground. To monitor the flow of electrons a device called cell sensor tracks the levels. If there is a flow of greater then 50 percent going through the gate then the value of the cell is one. If there is less that 50 percent of flow going through the gate than there is a value of zero in the cell. To return the vlaue of the cell of to one an electrical charge of a stronger voltage is applied.

=__**Different Technologies**__=

__[|USB Flash Memory]__ - It's a ​small device that plugs into your USB drive in your computer and you can save and store a lot of information on it. It holds a wide range of media such as pictures, videos, and documents. Flash memory has the ability to[| store information] without the use of electricity But to program or erase the information electricity is needed. USB flash memory has even begun to replace hard drives in [|netbooks] to store the infromation. media type="youtube" key="LmHBLqYzimE" height="340" width="560" This video shows a man using only four USB Flash drives and doubling the capacity of his computers hard drive. He take apart his whole hard drive and puts in the flash drives and connects a USB cord to the hard drive and connects it to his computer. Now he can hold and store a lot more information than what was possible before. __

[|SD Card](Secure Digital)- __ These cards were originally used for holding copyrighted music files, but now they are used and better known for holding pictures. All digital camera owners usually have a SD Card so they can hold many pictures at a time on there camera without having to clear it. __ [|Smart Media Cards-] __ Better known as the floppy disk.This card was developed by Toshiba and used to be quite popular. They can only actually hold about 128MB of information, which isn't a lot of storage space.

__ [|Compact Flash]- __ This type of flash is also well known for digital camera users. It holds quite a bit of information, anywhere between 8MB to 8GB! It's larger in size than most the other types of flash memory, but it has both a memory chip and a controller.

__ [|Memory Stick]- __ This was created in 1999 by Sony. They made it for their digital cameras and video cameras users, ocassionally its used in computers as well.

=**__What's in store for the future__**=

A new technology called Memristor is beginning to beat out flash memory. Not only is Memristor cheaper, its also faster, can hold a lot more of information, and has a lower power consumption. The goal of these companies is to offer the Memristor technology by the year 2012. Their estimate is the flash memory will be obsolete within a decade from its release date. Already flash memory is being replaced by [|Phase Change Device Memory]. PCM works by the melting and freezing of crystals. The draw for this is that the smaller they get the more efficient it becomes unlike flash memory. Also flash memory puts electrons in small areas making it increaseingly unstable and this is not true for PCM.

=**__Sources__**=

"Beyond Flash: Memories Are Made Of This." //Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology//. Web. 02 Jan. 2010. .

CompuPair. "Flash Memory Types - Types of flash memory available for digital devices | CompuPair." //Free Computer Help | CompuPair//. 2004-2010. Web. [].

"Faster than Flash, Meltable Phase-Change Device Memory Is Finally in Production | Popular Science." //Popular Science | New Technology, Science News, The Future Now//. Web. 06 Jan. 2010. [].

"Flash Memory Introduction." //TutorialsWeb.com - SMT Assembly, and Reliability. Satellite LinkBudgeting, and Environment Stress Screening.// Web. 04 Jan. 2010. [].

"HowStuffWorks "How Removable Storage Works"" //Howstuffworks "Computer"// Web. 08 Jan. 2010. [].

"Understanding Flash Memory." //TigerDirect News: Computer and Electronic News, Reviews and Great Deals from your trusted source - TigerDirect!// Web. 09 Jan. 2010.