Tiny Chip Demonstrates Big Memory in Cosmos

PhysOrg.com, accessed 3 Aug 2006 A chemical alloy, used in everyday electronic items such as rewritable CDs and DVDs, serves as the source of a new computer chip which researchers hope will demonstrate non-volatile memory, or information storage retention without a power source, in the radiation-hardened space environment. Debuting in 2000, the chalcogenide random access memory, or C-RAM, program, administered by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicle Directorate, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., has invested in the innovative, tiny component, which features 16 times the retention capacity of the best non-volatile memory available for use in the cosmos. Read more