MRAM-Info: the MRAM experts

Researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology developed a new MRAM architecture that is based on THz pulses which are used to change the spin state. This so-called optically-assisted MRAM is extremely efficient (the power required to switch a "bit" will be a thousand times smaller compared to current MRAM devices) and fast.

The researchers use picosecond-long pulses (3 picoseconds = one light oscillation cycle) on a specially developed structure comprised from micrometer-sized gold antennas deposited on a thulium orthoferrite sample. The researcher admit that the material is excellent for fundamental research, but it may be too early to tell whether it could be used in the future for commercial applications. The researchers tell us that they re trying to raise funds now to start fundamental studies of this new optically-assisted MRAM.

The $1 billion EU Graphene Flagship project has announced a call out for new industrial partner to provide specific industrial and technology transfer capabilities to enhance the current consortium.

One of the work packages include a €200,000 project that seeks an MRAM tools developer to leverage solutions for graphene-spintronic stacks.

Everspin announced its financial results for Q1 2019. Revenues in the quarter were to $10 million (down from $14.9 in Q1 2018). Net loss was $4.3 million (up from $1.3 million in Q1 2018).

At the end of the quarter, Everspin had $18.5 million in cash and equivalents. For the next quarter (Q2 2019), Everspin expects revenues to be in the range of $9.6 million to $10 million.

Hprobe, a developer of testing equipment for magnetic devices, announced that it has teamed up with the IMEC research institute to jointly extend Hprobe's fast testing protocols for SOT-MRAM devices.

Hprobe has already begun to optimize its test flow for SOT-MRAM devices in order to bring the characterization and testing to an industrial level with the primary objective to reduce the testing time while maximizing yield.

Researchers from Taiwan's National Tsing Hua University (NTHU)managed to use a spin current to manipulate the exchange bias in Spin-Orbit Torque memory (SOT-MRAM). The researchers say that this has been a long-time challenge in the field.

To achieve this, the researchers added a platinum layer under the ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic layers of the MRAM device. The researchers patented this technique before publishing their findings.

Everspin announced its financial results for Q4 2018. Revenues in the quarter grew 21% from last year to reach $12.3 million, while total year revenues in 2018 grew 38% from 2017 to reach $49.4 million. Net loss in the quarter was $3.5 million (down from $4.4 million in Q4 2017). Net loss for the whole 2018 was $17.8 million (down from $21.1 million in 2017).

Everspin says that it has increased the production volume of its 40nm 256Mb STT-MRAM in support of its lead flash array customer. Everspin ended 2018 with with cash and cash equivalents of $23.4 million.

Samsung announced that it has started to mass produce its first embedded MRAM, made using the company's 28nm FD-SOI process. Samsung says that its eMRAM memory module offers higher performance and endurance when compared to eFlash, and can be integrated into existing chips.

Samsung details that its eMRAM is 1,000 times faster than its eFlash memory, and it does not require an erase cycle before writing data (unlike Flash memory). The voltage used is also lower - and in total eMRAM consumes 1/400 the energy compared to eFlash for the writing process. Samsung's MRAM capacity, though, is lower than its 3D Xpoint, DRAM and NAND flash.