“Nanochip Inc.”, a Fremont, California based chip manufacturing company is running the process of developing its first ‘terabyte memory chips’. The company intends to combine the ‘phase-change media’ to the ‘cantilever read or write heads’ that would be controlled with the help of a ‘micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS)’.

Nanochip’s terabyte memory chips will be using the conventional, DRAM-like interfaces. These chips would be functioning internally just like a multiple-head hard drive. In this hard drive, the slaved MEMS cantilevers will move in unison over their array of bit cells to read and write phase-change media.’ Nanochip’ claims that the first prototypes of these terabyte memory chips will be rolled out sometime during the year 2009. Commercial production and open sale will begin in the year 2010, said Nanochip Inc.

“We are well on-track to meet our original schedule of reaching full commercialization of our first product offering by 2010“, said Gordon Knight, CEO of Nanochip Inc.
The size of the potential bit cell terabyte memory chips from ‘Nanochip’ would be measuring almost 2 by 3 nanometers. The company is accordingly accounting for its terabyte-per-chip goal. Initial prototypes of these terabyte memory chips will however be measuring about 15-by-15 nanometers for capacities around 100 Gbytes per chip in while rolling out in the year 2010.

The company estimates that it will be able to double up the capacities every year thereafter and this will happen without scaling down the relaxed 1-micron geometry of their process. Instead, the company will also be seeking to make improvisation of the media and along with the refinement in the control of the ganged MEMS cantilever read or write heads.

“Nanochip” feels that its technology is now in a position “to provide memory capacity with exponentially higher storage densities at a cost per gigabyte significantly below that of flash technology“, said Keith Larson, Vice President and Director of manufacturing, memory and digital health at ‘Intel Capital’.

Nanochip has recently finished up with the financing of this long term research and development project that would be reaching to its culmination in the year 2010.New terabyte memory chips would definitely be changing the scenario of computing and storage technology. The company has lined up a venture capital of $14 million in collaboration with Intel Capital and J&B Capital. Microsoft Corporation would be among the top companies who have backed the project of ‘Nanochip Inc.”.