In 2002, I was creating my new consulting business. I was coming off of 14-years developing marketing plans the first Ferroelectric RAM products with visions to future high dielectric DRAM and non-volatile DRAM, working with an ex-Inmos DRAM Design team that had developed the fastest available DRAM products at NMB Semiconductor (the Enhanced DRAM), and creating the highest density 1T SRAM (the Enhanced SRAM) to be used as L2 Cache for the HP PA-RISC microprocessor. During this time, I had frequent contact with innovative packaging companies such as Cubic Memory (3D Wafer Stacking), Irvine Sensors (heterogeneous integration) and 3D Plus (die stacking). What was clear was that Moore’s law was heading for the wall, the traditional DRAM DIMM would have difficulty expanding it’s clock rate from 150 MHz to multiple GHZ and it’s bandwidth sufficiently to meet demands of multiple processors.

I named my company, Vertical Memory. My vision was a new memory that would shrink to zero ns speed, unlimited endurance, almost no cell area, and would retain data without power. A Memory beyond Space and Time. At the time, I said such a memory would require new storage materials and require memory to go Vertical - vertical device structures, stack components in a package, multiple bits per cell. Today, these visions are called Beyond Moore.

So today, the vision is the same yet these goals now apply to Systems. Processor Systems are going vertical combining multiple chiplets, 3D stacked High Bandwidth Memories, and an high interconnect density interposers. 3D NAND non-volatile storage systems are combining 3D vertical integration on chip, 3D stacked packages, and multi-bit per cell storage to achieve incredible storage densities.

Yet the job is not yet done. DRAM and NAND Flash latency has not improved significantly. We are still searching for the storage class non-volatile DRAM using new materials, SRAM speed and persistent storage close to the processor. So close that it might become part of memory.

Beyond Moore: Beyond Space and Time

Vertical Memory represents my vision of the future of semiconductor memory and systems-on-chip.  I consult on volatile & non-volatile memory technologies - stand-alone and embedded and system-on-chip technology.  I have 50-years experience in developing businesses in leading edge non-volatile & volatile memory and ASIC products & technologies.  Let me help you make the right decisions for your business or your investment.