IBM 'Racetrack' approach melds best traits of hard and flash drives

IBM scientists are moving closer to electronic memory that combines the best attributes of flash drives (common in digital cameras and cell phones) and the hard disk drives of computers.

In papers published in the April 11 issue of Science, scientists at the IBM Almaden Research Center in San Jose describe the basics of a technology dubbed "racetrack" memory, as well as a milestone in that technology. The breakthrough could lead to cheaper, more durable electronic devices that would hold far more data in the same amount of space and boot up more quickly.

Researchers say that within the next 10 years, racetrack memory -- so named because the data "races" around the wire "track" -- could mean that an mp3 player would hold some 500,000 songs or 3,500 movies, 100 times today's capacity.

"The promise of racetrack memory - for example, the ability to carry massive amounts of information in your pocket - could unleash creativity leading to devices and applications that nobody has imagined yet," said Dr. Stuart Parkin, the lead researcher on the project.

Racetrack storage would also use less power, generate less heat and be practically unbreakable. Unlike hard disk drives, racetrack memory has no moving parts. It also overcomes a major weakness of the flash drives: they can be used only a few thousand times because each "rewrite" causes slight damage.

source: IBM.com