Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tank!shamash!nic.MR.NET!xanth!ukma!rutgers!rochester!cornell!uw-beaver!blake!ogccse!littlei!omepd!omews3!jhunt
From: jhunt@omews3.intel.com (Jim Hunt)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Bubbles (was Re: Solid State Secondary Storage)
Message-ID: <4070@omepd.UUCP>
Date: 17 Jan 89 04:27:24 GMT
References: <248@vlsi.ll.mit.edu> <2409@garth.UUCP> <1012@vsi.COM>
Sender: news@omepd.UUCP
Reply-To: jhunt@omews3.UUCP (Jim Hunt)
Distribution: comp
Organization: Intel Corporation, Hillsboro, Oregon
Lines: 32

In article <1012@vsi.COM> friedl@vsi.COM (Stephen J. Friedl) writes:
>In article <2409@garth.UUCP>, phipps@garth.UUCP (Clay Phipps) writes:
>>
>> Bubble memory is nonvolatile. [...]
>> (stuff deleted)
>> What ever happened to bubble memory, anyhow ?
>
>[warning: vague memory alert here.  It's been a while...]
>
>I worked on a bubble memory system back when I was at Telxon and
>Intel was in the bubble memory business.
>
>(bunch of mostly correct info on Intel bubble architecture deleted)
>
Boy, this brings back memories ... the first project I worked on out of
school was the sense amp & controller circuits for Intel's 1 Mb
bubble chip ...

But that's not to the point.  Bubbles suffered from cost/bit deficiencies
compared to mechanical magnetic media (i.e., Winchester disks), nor did they
compare well in access times.  Error rates were not a major problem.  
Not being able to compete in the mass storage market (high cost, medium
performance == no customers) limited them to relatively small niche markets, 
particularly harsh environment type applications.  Bubbles are still around
but you have to look hard for them.  The packages got a lot smaller when the
4 Mb chips came out.  Anybody know if anyone is producing a 16 Mb bubble
yet?

Strictly my own opinions here, the company disavows any knowledge of me.

Jim Hunt
Intel Corp.