NRAM is sometimes used to refer to NVRAM.

NRAM is a trademark of Nantero, Inc. , a nonvolatile random access memory product based on carbon nanotubes.

NRAM is a very exciting and revolutionary development in Non-Volatile Random Access Memory.

An order of magnitude increase in speed, and density compared to DRAM with equivalent costs.

Nantero has created multiple prototype devices, including an array of ten billion suspended nanotube junctions on a single silicon wafer. Nantero's design for NRAM™ involves the use of suspended nanotube junctions as memory bits, with the "up" position representing bit zero and the "down" position representing bit one. Bits are switched between states through the application of electrical fields. The wafer was produced using only standard semiconductor processes, maximizing compatibility with existing semiconductor factories.

NRAM™ will be considerably faster and denser than DRAM, have substantially lower power consumption than DRAM or flash, be as portable as flash memory, and be highly resistant to environmental forces (heat, cold, magnetism). And as a nonvolatile chip, it will provide permanent data storage even without power. Possible uses include the enabling of instant-on computers, which boot and reboot instantly, as well as high-density portable memory - MP3 players with 1000s of songs, PDAs with 10 gigabytes of memory, high-speed network servers and much more.

The proprietary NRAM™ design, invented by Dr. Thomas Rueckes, Nantero's Chief Scientific Officer, uses carbon nanotubes as the active memory elements. Carbon nanotubes are members of the fullerene family and have amazing properties, including the ability to conduct electricity as well as copper while being stronger than steel and as hard as diamond. The wall of a single-walled carbon nanotube is only one carbon atom thick and the tube diameter is approximately 100,000 times smaller than a human hair. Dr. Rueckes' pioneering design takes advantage of these unique properties while cleverly integrating nanotubes with traditional semiconductor technologies for immediate manufacturability.

External Links

• Nantero's NRAM page