Scientists make first transparent memory chip

Seoul (Korea) - A group of scientists at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) claims it has created an “almost completely clear” transparent resistive random access memory (TRRAM). We have not seen an image of this chip yet, but if it is true, it would be the first transparent computer chip we know of.

Research in transparent electronic devices have been an ongoing topic for at least a decade, but actual results have been limited to individual components like transistors so far. The KAIST team has achieved something unique by apparently creating an entire chip that is transparent.

The TRRAM chip is based on the relatively young RRAM technology, which is developed by companies such as Fujitsu, Samsung, Micron and Spansion as a non-volatile memory technology with the goal to replace flash at some point in the future. Whether it can replace flash is unclear as several potential flash replacement candidates were announced in the past, only to quietly disappear again. Flash is still going strong and RRAM will have to compete with technologies such as PRAM and MRAM for a spot in the future memory market. Hewlett-Packard was one of the first companies to announce the intention to use RRAM in its products in July of this year.