ULTRARAM™, a novel type of memory with extraordinary properties, is be showcased for the first time at the world’s largest independent storage and memory event.

The Flash Memory Summit at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California from August 8-10 2023 is the top showcase for the industry, which is worth an estimated $160bn per annum.

ULTRARAM™ - invented by Lancaster University Physics Professor Manus Hayne – has been called the “holy grail” of solid-state memory research.

Professor Hayne, who will be giving a talk on ULTRARAM™ at the event, is co-founder of the Lancaster University spinout Quinas Technology, which has a booth at the exhibition.

He will be joined at the convention by Quinas Technology co-founder and CEO, James Ashforth-Pook, where they will both meet with potential investors, key industry stakeholders, policy makers and end users.

Professor Hayne said: “ULTRARAM™ is a highly disruptive technology, but with semiconductors high on the global agenda and subject to huge investment, the timing is ideal. Nevertheless, direct engagement with the memory industry is crucial, and the Flash Memory Summit is the ideal opportunity to do just that.”

ULTRARAM™ is an ultra-efficient memory, combining the non-volatility of a data storage memory, like flash, with the speed, energy-efficiency and endurance of a working memory, like DRAM.

It has the ability to both store data for more than 1,000 years – exceeding the capabilities in flash, but also to be read and written very quickly and at lower energy than DRAM.

To do this it exploits quantum resonant tunnelling in compound semiconductors, materials commonly used in photonic devices such as LEDS, laser diodes and infrared detectors, but not in digital electronics, which is currently the preserve of silicon.

Initially patented in the US, further patents on the technology are underway in key technology markets around the world.