noosphere

IMFT’s 25-nm process can make a NAND device that stores 8 gigabytes of memory in 167 square millimeters, twice the density found in today’s standard, 34-nm flash devices. A chip no larger than the hole in a compact disc can hold 10 times as much data as that disc, says Troy Winslow, director of NAND marketing for Intel. A more intriguing possibility is using flash drives in a wider range of laptop computers than has been possible at today’s prices. As a replacement for a rotating magnetic hard drive, flash enables a laptop to turn on instantly, subsist on less power, and survive drops more easily. Up to now flash drives for laptops have lagged in the number of gigabytes they can hold, as well as in speed of access and in how long they last. But Kevin Kilbuck, director of NAND marketing for Micron, says the companies expect in a few months to offer solid-state drives that begin to solve these problems.