Toshiba to use MRAM as cache for HDD and NAND

Kiyoshi Kobayashi, president of Toshiba's Semiconductor and Storage Products Company, said that "MRAMs will make it possible to take further advantage of NAND flash memories and HDDs, whose access performances are low,". It seems that Toshiba plans to use MRAM as cache for both NAND and HDDs devices.

Toshiba hasn't given up on the idea of having a full MRAM memory device - replacing HDD/NAND/DRAM altogether, but using it as a cache can be a step towards this goal.

Interestingly, Toshiba says that the equipment needed to manufacture MRAMs is not that much different from existing equipment, although the etching process will be difficult in order to process MRAM chips.

A few weeks ago, Toshiba and Hynix announced an agreement to jointly develop MRAM products. Once the development is complete, the companies intend to establish an MRAM production plant together. Toshiba also reported a breakthrough MTJ device that could pave the way towards Gigabit MRAM devices. They expect such chips within 3-4 years.

via TechOn