The future prospect of nonvolatile memory

As mobile appliances are prevailing in our daily lives, the nonvolatile memory suitable for mobile applications becomes indispensable elements and it is anticipated that the nonvolatile memory usage is much increased in future due to much diversified applications. Therefore it is very appropriate and important to look into where the nonvolatile memory technologies are now, what the challenges are, and where the future technologies should go. In this study, two major devices of nonvolatile memory i.e., NAND flash and NOR flash are reviewed and then the newly emerging nonvolatile memory i.e., PRAM (phase change memory), and FRAM (ferroelectric memory) are discussed.