A wholly new type of memory technology has just been revealed that uses very different silicon chip tech to store data. Why should you care about this innovation? Easy: The new Crossbar tech could mean your 2015 smartphone packs a terabyte of memory and, particularly if combined with other smartphone innovations, will run for much much longer on a single charge. Chip startup Crossbar is named after the design of its new resistive RAM technology, which is built up of thick bars of conductors stacked up in a complex crossed pattern on a tiny sliver of silicon. The actual way the memory works is very different from the flash RAM tech that’s humming away in your smartphone now. And even though flash tech is the pinnacle of decades of research and development, it’s easily beaten by Crossbar’s system.
