Brain-inspired computer memory consumes less energy

A new technology for fast, non-volatile computer memory uses a similar mechanism to the human brain, according to its developers at Paris-Sud University. This technology works with no power attached, but is faster than USB keys or CD memory retrieval.

Both current types of computer memory — volatile, which only retains data when it has power running through it, and non-volatile, which does not need power — store information in the form of an electrical charge. Volatile memory systems work fast, whereas non-volatile are slow. A newer version, called magnetic memory (STT-MRAM), is as fast as volatile memory but does not need applied energy. Unfortunately it’s also very expensive.

Rather than using charge, STT-MRAM stores data as magnetic orientation of electron spin, a quantum-mechanical phenomenon. Its basic units, called magnetic transfer junctions, are programmed by applying a voltage across their junctions. But if the voltage pulse is not long enough, the programming can be incorrect. AS this is a quantum phenomenon, there’s a degree of randomness proportional to the length of the pulse. Conventional electronic memory can’t tolerate randomness.