Analyst: 'Long Live Flash Memory'

That was the message at this week's Flash Memory Summit here. In fact, flash memory, especially NAND, is expected to scale at least for three more generations, thereby pushing out the need for "universal memory" technologies for the foreseeable future, according to an analyst.

Geoff MacGillivary, technology manager for memory at Semiconductor Insights Inc., believes that NAND flash-memory technology can be scaled at least to the 20-nm "half-pitch" node.

This, in turn, could push out the need for "universal memory" technologies, such as FeRAM, MRAM, OUM and others. "Universal memory" is supposed to replace flash, but the technology has not lived up to its promises, he said.

"MRAM has taken a long time to get commercial parts out there," he said, referring to a recent MRAM shipment announcement made by Freescale Semiconductor Inc.

With MRAM, Freescale does not appear to be going toe-to-toe against flash. "I think they are talking about the embedded space," he said.

Ovonic unified memory (OUM), also known as phase-change memory, "has gotten a lot of hype," he said. Another analyst believes that devices based on OUM technology will not be commercialized for "10 years."

"FeRAM will have its place, but it doesn't appear to have lived up to its expectations," the SI analyst said.