ABSTRACT
This chapter takes into account the current state of volatile and nonvolatile memory products and device attributes in the context of market and application drivers at present and in foreseeable future. It also outlines the current limitations of such devices. The chapter introduces the emerging nonvolatile memory contenders, namely, phase change memory (PCM), STT-MRAM, and Re-RAM (RRAM). Multifunctional embedded and stand-alone nonvolatile memories (NVMs) with DRAM functionality coupled with NVM characteristics could be employed through architectural enhancements of memory subsystems in enterprise solutions, thereby potentially reducing traditional SRAM and DRAM contents and providing cost/performance improvements of future systems. The chapter discusses such memories and their significant features, and compares with current memory products to provide a perspective of potential challenges to silicon based memories in future decades.
