Patents

Hynix and Grandis have also entered into a collaborative agreement to jointly integrate Grandis' STT-RAM technology into Hynix' future memory products. Technical teams from both companies will work together to implement Grandis' STT-RAM technology, including magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) materials and structures.

NVE has been notified that the patent, titled "Magnetic Memory Layers Thermal Pulse Transitions," will issue today. The patent is number 7,266,013 and covers inventions by Dr. James M. Daughton and Dr. Arthur V. Pohm. The grant is in addition to similarly-titled patent numbers 7,177,178 and 7,023,723.

NVE has been notified that the patent, titled `Thermomagnetically Assisted Spin-Momentum-Transfer Switching Memory' will be issued today. The patent is number 7,230,844 and is the grant of a patent under the application published by the USPTO as number 2006-0077707.

IBM has recieved a new patent, titled - "New Magnetic tunnel junctions for MRAM devices".

Methods of manufacturing MTJ memory cells and structures thereof. A diffusion barrier is disposed between an anti-ferromagnetic layer and a pinned layer of an MTJ memory cell to improve thermal stability of the MTJ memory cell. The diffusion barrier may comprise an amorphous material or a NiFe alloy. An amorphous material may be disposed adjacent a bottom surface of a tunnel junction, within a free layer, or both. An MTJ memory cell with improved thermal stability and decreased Neel coupling is achieved.

NVE Corporation said that it has been notified by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) of the expected grant today of a patent relating to Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM). The patent, titled "Magnetoresistive Memory SOI Cell," is number 7,148,531 and is the grant of a patent under the application published by the USPTO as number 2005-0242382.
 
NVE's invention relates to MRAM incorporating silicon-on-insulator (SOI) materials. The invention could allow smaller MRAM cells and lower power consumption by reducing the electrical current required to write data to the memory cells.

Philips has a new application for a patent: A passive MRAM that will "self destruct" when someone tries to open it.

When you try and phsyically open the device, magnets inside will destroy the data stored in the MRAM chip.

The Two-Axis Magnetic Field Sensor is patent number 7,054,114, and is the grant of a patent under the application published by the USPTO as number 2004-0137275. The invention is for a spintronic device that can detect the magnitude and orientation of magnetic fields. Applications for such devices might include Magnetoresitive Random Access Memory (MRAM), or military, industrial, and medical sensors.