Tezzaron Semiconductor will be the first customer to incorporate Rambus oxide-resistive memory (ReRAM) technology in forthcoming devices through an architecture license that provides Tezzaron access to system IP, specifications and validation suites to design differentiated chips using ReRAM.

ReRAM, sometimes known as RRAM, operates by changing the resistance of special dielectric material called a memristor, whose resistance varies depending on the applied voltage. The main advantage of ReRAM over other non-volatile memories is its high switching speed. The thinness of the memristors means it has potential for high storage density, greater read and write speeds, lower power usage, and cheaper cost than flash memory.

Bob Patti, Tezzaron's CTO, said the company sees short-term potential for ReRAM in military, aerospace and HPC applications where it can meet the power and performance requirements, and long-term opportunity in more commercial memory applications. Tezzaron is always on the look-out for new memory technologies, he said, and ReRAM fits into the emerging market of storage-class memory.

Patti said ReRAM offers very high endurance for military and aerospace customers, as well as radiation hardness. "It's much more robust than standard flash." He sees it having the potential to replace DRAM as it could scale better in the long term, perhaps as low as six nanometers.

ReRAM fills the gap between what DRAM and flash can provide while being highly reliable and high-speed, said Gary Bronner, VP of Rambus Labs. In addition to the aerospace and military applications that Tezzaron is eyeing for ReRAM use, he said Rambus sees an opportunity for IoT devices, in part because of their low power qualities.