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What exactly is Flash Memory?
Flash memory represents the chip technology used to store data and applications
inside cell phones, industrial equipment and portable memory cards.
Flash Memory Stick cards fit into slots that are built into devices, such as
digital cameras and handheld's. The cards let consumers store data, and in some
cases, expand the capabilities of a device. For example, a Flash Memory card
with a built-in digital camera can be added to a handheld device through a Flash
Memory slot.
There are a lot of Flash memories in a variety of configurations and architectures
to address the unique requirements of today's applications.
One of the first things experts like to point out about flash memory is that,
technically, it's contradictory. Flash memory chips are electrical, meaning that
they need electricity to store data. Yet flash chips retain their data after
the host computer or cell phone is turned off. By contrast, DRAM - used in PCs
- loses data as soon as the computer shuts off.
The whole idea behind the Flash memory chips lies in the fact that the gate
in a flash transistor (the microscopic on-off switch inside a flash chip)
is wrapped in a layer of silicon dioxide that prevents electrons from escaping.
Depending on what the charge inside is, the computer reads the memory cell
as a "1" or "0".
The silicon dioxide insulator is so effective that a floating gate transistor
(so-called because the gate "floats" above the rest of the transistor)
will retain data for 10 years. New data can be written to a flash chip a million
times before errors begin to occur.
The new flash memory cards are designed to allow higher performance levels than
the previous card format, so devices should be better able to perform high-end
functions, such as playing streaming video.
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