AI Term of the Moment
Tensor core
Definition: memory chip
An integrated circuit that holds programs and data temporarily. Random access memory (RAM) is the work area for a computer, executing instructions that process the data, both of which reside temporarily in memory. Contrast with storage chip.
From Intel to SK Hynix
Intel's first product was the fast static RAM memory chip, but the company got out of the memory business in the mid-1980s. Today, SK hynix is the world's largest memory chip manufacturer. See semiconductor companies, storage vs. memory, memory module, dynamic RAM, static RAM and memory types.
A Wafer Full of RAM Chips
RAM Chips
Core Memory in the Mid-1960s
Twelve Magnetic Cores
From Intel to SK Hynix
Intel's first product was the fast static RAM memory chip, but the company got out of the memory business in the mid-1980s. Today, SK hynix is the world's largest memory chip manufacturer. See semiconductor companies, storage vs. memory, memory module, dynamic RAM, static RAM and memory types.
The wafer is the structure all chips are fabricated on whether processors or memory. Each rectangle on this wafer is a RAM chip, which is cut out and placed into an individual package. (Image courtesy of Motorola, Inc.)
The 30 rectangles (enlarged at top) comprise a 4-gigabit RAM chip made by the Dataram Corporation. The chip is cut out of the wafer and placed into a BGA package. The wedding band is shown for size comparison.
The young woman is stringing magnetic cores by hand for a Univac 494 computer. There is a thousand times more RAM in the average smartphone than in all the core memory in this picture. (Image courtesy of Hagley Museum and Library.)
This shows 12 magnetic cores from the Whirlwind computer in the early 1950s. Each core held one bit. See core storage. (Image courtesy of The MITRE Corporation Archives.)