Semiconductor memory

Fujio Masuoka: inventions and patents

Fujio Masuoka is an engineer who worked at Toshiba (then Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co.) from 1971 to 1994 and became a professor at Tohoku University in 1994, retiring in 2007 as professor emeritus. Honda awarded him the 2018 Honda Prize for his invention of the world's first "flash memory" technology, announced in 1984, with products appearing in 1985. Honda describes his approach as erasing data across many cells at once, which reduced the number of transistors and raised integration.¹

Patents

Inventions

• Flash memory, 1984. A non-volatile semiconductor memory that erases data across multiple cells in one operation. Honda says it was announced in 1984 and products appeared in 1985.¹

Recognition

• 2018 Honda Prize, 39th award, for the invention of flash memory technology¹

Sources

1. Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Honda Prize 2018 awarded to Dr. Fujio Masuoka (28 September 2018)
2. Google Patents, US4437174A Semiconductor memory device (accessed 2026-10-28)
3. Google Patents, US5245566A Programmable semiconductor (accessed 2026-10-28)