Flash memory is not the only type of non-volatile memory currently available. Even if these become very diffused there is another promising technology that shows more efficiency and speed: resistive RAM (ReRAM).

Just to avoid confusion, non-volatile means that the memory retains data even after power is turned off. ReRAM are memories that makes use of enormous resistive changes in the memory device, in the presence of an electrical field.

Fujitsu today announced the development of a new type of ReRAM which combines low power consumption with limited fluctuation of resistance value. By changing the structure of the ReRAM by adding titanium (Ti) to nickel oxide (NiO), and by limiting the current flow from the transistor, Fujitsu Labs has successfully reduced the current needed to erase memory to 100 micro-amperes or less. Furthermore, even in high-speed erasure operations requiring only 5 nanoseconds, fluctuation of resistance value which affects the device's quality has been reduced to one-tenth (1/10th) that of conventional ReRAMs.

According to Fujitsu, the new ReRAM is a valid alternative to flash memory that combines high speed and low power consumption, mostly as memory for low-cost embedded devices that require a non-volatile memory.

More details are available at Fujitsu.