Is 3D XPoint Intel's Secret Weapon?

Jeremy Laird asks, what is 3D XPoint? A supercharged flash alternative or the gateway to 100GHz optical computing?

Is Intel’s new 3D XPoint tech the biggest paradigm shift in computing since the introduction of silicon chips? Is it merely the basis of faster SSDs? Or is this story nothing more than a combination of vapor ware and conspiracy theories?

3D XPoint is one of the most mysterious technologies to come out of Intel in years. The first products derived from it are imminent, yet we don’t fully understand what it is or how it works. It’s not even totally clear what it’s really intended to do.

Partly that’s down to a lack of clarity on Intel’s (and its partner, Micron’s) behalf. The messaging has been mixed, both in terms of the intended applications for 3D XPoint, and the insight Intel has provided into its technical underpinnings. It’s the latter, in particular, that has fueled speculation. Nature abhors a vacuum, and into the space created by equivocation has flowed extensive conjecture.

Is 3D XPoint the basis for a whole new approach to chips, with chalcogenide and phase-change materials replacing silicon and the transistor? Does it open the door to fully integrated on-chip optical computing? Will it smash the circa4GHz ceiling on CPU speeds, achieving frequencies in hundreds of gigahertz?

Meanwhile, rumors abound of corporate maneuvering and even skulduggery. Is the patchy technical insight an attempt to protect valuable and vulnerable intellectual property? Could Intel be playing down the true value of 3D XPoint, while it scoops up the relevant patents, ensuring a lucrative lockdown on the next age of computing? Could there be an intentional cover-up involving infringement of third-party patents?