IBM moves racetrack memory closer to reality

IBM Researchers  have revealed a previously unknown aspect of key physics inside Racetrack memory -- a new technology design which stands to improve memory capabilities within mobile phones, laptop computers and business-class servers. This new class of memory could enable devices to store much more information - as much as a factor of 100 times greater - while using much less energy than today's designs.

The Racetrack memory project -- which started in IBM's Research labs only six years ago -- flips the current memory paradigm on its head. Instead of making computers seek out the data it needs – as is the case in traditional computing systems – IBM's Racetrack memory automatically moves data to where it can be used, sliding magnetic bits back and forth along nanowire "racetracks."

This technique would allow electronic manufacturers to design a portable device capable of storing all the movies produced worldwide in a given year with room to spare.

Digital data is typically stored in magnetic hard disk drives, which are low-cost but slow due to their moving parts, or in solid state memory such as Flash memory, which are faster but more expensive.  Racetrack memory aims to combine the best attributes of these two types of devices by storing data as magnetic regions – also called domains – in racetracks just a few tens of nanometers wide.

The new understanding, revealed today in the journal Science, allows the precise control of the placement of these domains, which the IBM team has proven can act as nano-sized data keepers that can not only store at least 100 times more memory than today's techniques, but can be accessed at much greater speeds. By controlling electrical pulses in the device, the scientists can move these domain walls at speeds of hundreds of miles per hour and then stop them precisely at the position needed -- allowing massive amounts of stored information to be accessed in less than a billionth of a second.

The full scientific details of the discovery can be read in the scientific paper. In short, the IBM scientists were the first to measure the time and distance of domain wall acceleration and deceleration in response to electric current pulses, which is how digital information is moved and processed in Racetrack memory. This not only gives scientists an unprecedented understanding and control over the magnetic movements inside these devices but also advances IBM's Racetrack memory -- driving it closer to marketplace viability.