Similar to a compound semiconductor version of flash, ULTRARAM is said to exploit the quantum-mechanical effect of resonant tunnelling, replacing the oxide tunnel barrier in flash with a triple-barrier resonant tunnelling structure. According to the Lancaster University spin out, this eliminates flash’s deficiencies, allowing a floating-gate memory to operate at low voltage and high speed, with high endurance and unprecedented efficiency, but without compromising on non-volatility.
It can store data for over 1,000 years, exceeding the capabilities of flash, and also to be read from and written to very quickly and at lower energy than DRAM.
In a statement, Professor Manus Hayne, ULTRARAM inventor and Quinas Technology’s chief scientific officer, said: “This is a significant first step for a newly formed company and has fired the starting gun in the race to commercialise ULTRARAM, but it will be a marathon, not a sprint. We look forward to tackling the challenges that lie ahead.”
The award from Innovate UK follows the completion of the ICURe programme, which is designed to validate the commercial viability of leading-edge science and aid spinout formation.
Assessors are said to have been impressed by the highly innovative nature of the project, its potential impact in the global $160bn memory market, and the prospect of establishing a new UK industry sector.
Dr Peter Hodgson, Quinas’ chief technology officer, said: “This award is a ringing endorsement of ULTRARAM and its commercial potential. The funding will allow us to demonstrate the performance of the memory devices at near-state-of-the-art feature sizes and help secure the significant investment required to bring a new technology to market.”
This latest development for Quinas follows success in the US where ULTRARAM was declared ‘Best of Show’ in the Most Innovative Flash Memory Startup category at the 2023 Flash Memory Summit in Santa Clara, California.
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