Numonyx rolls early access program for PCM

Numonyx rolls early access program for PCM
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Seeking to help IC designers--and quiet the detractors--Numonyx B.V. is rolling out an early access program for its phase-change memory (PCM) technology.

The so-called PCM Early Access program includes data sheets, application notes and other information about Numonyx' PCM lines. The program enables designers to access products and other data before they are officially announced, said Edward Doller, corporate vice president and chief technology officer for Numonyx (Geneva).

The announcement is part of a keynote at the Flash Memory Summit here. At the event, Doller will address PCM, storage-class memories and the urgent need to change the memory hierarchy in systems.

Formed last year, Numonyx is the flash memory spin-off of Intel Inc. and STMicroelectronics Inc. Besides NAND and NOR, the company has been pushing PCM, a new class of non-volatile memory said to bring together the best attributes of NOR, NAND and RAM.

Numonyx has announced PCM products at various times, but the problem is that the specifications have been sparse. Even the company admits that it has been rather secretive about PCM data, causing many to question the viability of the technology.

In some circles, the skepticism runs deep about PCM--a technology that has taken many decades to develop. ''We've taken a lot of crap about not having data sheets,'' Doller said. ''We've really brought it on ourselves.''

One of the reasons for the secrecy appears to have migrated over from its Intel roots, in which the company's mantra was clear: ''Only the paranoid survive.'' Numonyx has not divulged many of the PCM specifications, because ''we've been paranoid about our leadership in technology,'' he said.

To remove those and other barriers, the company is rolling out an early access program for PCM. The move will jumpstart designs in the arena, he said.