Rice University makes breakthrough in manufacturing of high-density memory chips that could mean hundreds of times more storage for mobile devices.

Smartphones, tablets, and computers are always getting more speed, storage, and memory to help them perform better with each new generation. A group of researchers has made a breakthrough with computer memory chips that could mean terabytes of memory inside future smartphones. The breakthrough could mean tens to hundreds of times more storage in mobile devices.

The memory is called resistive random access memory or RRAM and the chips are being developed by several companies. Making this sort of memory typically requires high-temperature or high-voltage making the chips hard to produce. Researchers at Rice University have made a breakthrough that allows the fabrication of these chips at room temperature and with much less voltage required.

RRAM is like flash memory in that it can store data without constant power supplied. RRAM stores data using resistance rather than charge in a transistor. Using resistance means each bit uses less space significantly increasing the amount of data that can be stored. These chips are also easier to stack leafing to more capacity.