Key Points
- Flash drives are the brainchild of Toshiba engineer Fujio Masuoka, who discovered how to harness the technology they rely on in 1980.
- Flash drives rely on floating gate transistor technology which has been around for over six decades.
- The two types of flash memory are NAND and NOR, both produced by the team at Toshiba within the space of four years.
It’s hard to believe, but if you wanted to back up data on the first generation of computers in the 1970s, initially your only option was to use a cassette recorder! Everyone had one to listen to and record music, so using one to back up your data made sense.
A second portable storage option debuted during the 1970s: the floppy disk. The first floppy disks were 8” in diameter and could store approximately 80KB. These large floppy disks were popular with corporations, but the smaller 5.25” disks were all the rage with personal computer users.
Quick Facts
- Created
- 1980
- Creator
- Fujio Masuoka of the Toshiba Corporation
- Original Use
- Solid State Data Storage
Compact Discs (CDs) and recordable CD burners, known as CD-Rs, became commonplace in the late 1990s. These discs could store 650MB. Different formats — DVD-R and DVD-RW — could store 4.3GB and, later 8GB per disc.
There were other storage options, as well, but these were the most popular among consumers.
Today, many computer users have discovered the convenience of carrying a flash memory drive on a keychain. With this solid-state product, information moves quickly from one device to another. Other common examples of flash memory usage include digital camera cards and video game memory cards. The technology behind flash memory allows for easy offline data transfer and storage.
Three Facts About Flash Memory
- While some devices lose data with a power connection, flash memory devices do not require an electrical charge to retain their information.
- The “flash” label comes from the way these devices imprint information. Engineers said it reminded them of the flash on a camera.
- There are two types of flash drives: NAND and NOR. The arrangement of memory cells on the device distinguishes the two.
Flash Memory: A Brief History
The floating gate transistor technology that is the basis for flash storage has been around since the late 1950s. However, it was not until 1980 that Fujio Masuoka, an engineer working for Toshiba, discovered a practical way to harness it for data storage. Over the next few years, he developed the NAND and NOR forms of flash memory that support countless devices today. Since its invention, flash storage has continued to improve both in performance and data capacity.
Flash Memory: How It Works
Before the invention of flash memory, most data storage happened on magnetic devices like hard or floppy disks. These storage devices worked well with early PCs. However, as processing speeds increased, users discovered the speed limitations of magnetic media. The time it took to read and write data began to impact performance.
Flash memory uses solid-state electronic technology to improve data storage. Instead of writing information through magnetic flux, these devices employ an electric charge to write bytes as 1s and 0s. Each memory cell is a type of floating gate transistor that opens or closes depending on its value.
The two types of flash memory are NAND and NOR. They were developed by the same team at Toshiba over four years. Memory cards and thumb drives are examples of external devices that work with NAND technology. The memory cell arrangement in NOR technology lends itself to internal memory uses.
NAND Flash Memory
NAND flash technology involves transistors arranged in a series. To access a specific memory cell, the device first selects the relevant group which gives access to the cell. Using blocks of memory allows for faster reading and data transfer. NAND drives also remove data in blocks.
The serial transistor organization gives NAND memory a higher storage capacity. Today, consumers can easily find USB drives with 256GB of storage, with some companies offering 1TB models.
NOR Flash Memory
NOR technology arrived a few years after NAND. NOR memory cells have individual connections to the circuit. This arrangement leads to more precise access to bits and faster reading times.
NOR flash memory works similarly to RAM. For this reason, engineers employ NOR memory to execute code for improved device performance.
NOR memory devices have a smaller data capacity due to the memory cell arrangement. However, they tend to be more stable and precise.
Flash Memory: Historical Significance
Before cloud-based computing, users had limited options for portable data storage. The simplicity and size of flash memory devices led to the downfall of floppy disks for the consumer market. Flash drives were less volatile and more portable.
The introduction of solid-state technology led to several design changes. Devices could be smaller when they did not have to include magnetic or optical drives. Because solid-state storage did not involve moving parts, new products were also quieter and less expensive to manufacture.
As the data capacity has increased, solid-state technology has become the standard tool for data storage. There are many examples of devices that employ flash technology for both improved data storage and performance such as tablets, smartphones, and video game consoles.
