Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) announced two new MRAM collaborations. The first one is with Taiwan's TSMC, for the development of SOT-MRAM array chips. The second collaboration is with National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) to develop magnetic memory technology that can perform across a wide operating temperature range of nearly 400 degrees Celsius.

Together with TSMC, ITRI is developing low-voltage and current SOT-MRAM, that features high write efficiecny and low write voltage. ITRI says that its SOT-MRAM achieves a writing speed of 0.4 nanoseconds and a high endurance of 7 trillion reads and writes. The memory also offers a data storage lifespan of over 10 years.

Renesas announced that it has developed 22-nm embedded STT-MRAM circuit technologies. Renesas developed a test 32-megabit (Mbit) chip with an embedded MRAM memory cell array that achieves 5.9-nanosecond (ns) random read access at a maximum junction temperature of 150°C, and a write throughput of 5.8-megabyte-per-second (MB/s).

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To achieve this performance, Renesas developed two technologies. The first is a fast read technology employing high-precision sense amplifier circuit, utilizing capacitive coupling. The second is a fast write technology, with simultaneous write bit number optimization and shortened mode transition time.

Here are some recent and popular news that you may find of interest:

• Everspin launches a new family of SPI interface MRAM products
• Renesas manages to reduce the power consumption of STT-MRAM chips by 72%
• Samsung researchers are first to demonstrate MRAM-based in-memory computing
• IBM to reveal the world's first 14nm STT-MRAM node
• ITRI and UCLA to co-develop VC-MRAM technologies
• Avalanche's MRAM technology used in flight safety computer products
• Samsung improves its MRAM performance, will expand its target applications
• Lucid Motors adopted Everspin's MRAM in its Lucid Air all-electric sedan
• Researchers demonstrate an ultra-fast and efficient laser-induced opto-MRAM device
• Orthogonal Spin Transfer MRAM developer Spin Memory liquidates
• Everspin reports its Q1 2022 financial results, with an all-time high backlog
• TSMC shows its eMRAM technology roadmap
• Researchers developed the world's smallest STT-MRAM MTJ
• Samsung is progressing towards 14 nm eMRAM

Everspin Technologies announced its financial results for Q1 2022, with revenues of $14.3 million (up 39% from 2021) and a net income of $1.9 million (compared to a $0.5 million net loss in 2021).

Everspin says its product backlog for the rest of 2022 is at an all-time high, as demand continues to outpace supply. The company continues to work with its foundry partners to increase production capacity, but it expects the supply chain constraints to tighten in H2 2022.

Everspin Technologies launched a new family of SPI/QSPI/xSPI interface MRAM products. Everspin says that the new EMxxLX family offers the world's highest performance persistent memory with full read and write bandwidth of 400 Megabytes per second through the new JEDEC expanded Serial Peripheral Interface (xSPI) standard interface.

With densities ranging from 8Mbit up to 64Mbit, this family of products is targeted for use in industrial IoT and embedded systems applications. Everspin began sampling the new chips for customers, and the company expects to commence volume production in the second half of 2022.

Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and the Fert Beijing Institute of Beihang University have experimentally demonstrated a fully-functional picosecond opto-MRAM building block device, by integrating ultrafast photonics with spintronics.

The researchers used a femtosecond (fs) laser, which is the fastest stimuli commercially that enabled the device to be extremely fast - and also a thousand times more energy efficient compared to standard MRAM devices. The device is based on the femtosecond laser-induced all-optical switching (AOS) scheme in synthetic ferrimagnetic multilayers that was discovered by TU/e in 2017, integrating it with MRAM bit

MRAM developer Avalanche Technology announced that ESEN has designed Avalanche’s 16Mbit High Performance Serial P-SRAM devices into its high reliability flight safety computer products.

Avalanche's 2nd-Gen P-SRAM evaluation kit

The MRAM memory will provide a highly reliable solution, and Avalanche says that its Gen-2 products were selected for their ease of use, instant write capability, practically unlimited endurance and data retention in harsh environmental conditions. Avalanche Technology says it is the only supplier of low voltage MRAM products at 16Mb density operating at 1.8V in a small form factor with a serial interface.

Integral Solutions International (ISI) announced a new 3-Axis Magnet Option for wafer-level testing. Combined with ISI's WLA5000 Tester, the 3D magnetic fields produced by this system can be used for characterization of MRAM devices in addition to 2D/3D Magnetic Sensors.

ISI says that for MRAM applications, the 3D Magnetic fields produced by ISI’s 3-Axis Magnet Option delivers solutions for both STT-MRAM and SOT-MRAM applications.

Taiwan-based Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) announced an agreement with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to co-develop Voltage-Control MRAM (VC-MRAM) technologies.

ITRI says that VC-MRAM is a type of SOT-MRAM that offers improved performance - 50% higher writing speed and 75% less energy consumption. VC-MRAM is said to be ideal for AIoT and automotive industry applications. The partnership is expected to strengthen the link between both parties and accelerate the R&D and industrialization of new memory technologies.

Everspin Technologies announced its financial results for Q4 2021. Revenues in the quarter came in at $18.2 million (up from $14.8 million in Q3 2021,and $10 million in Q4 2020). During the quarter, the company recognized $3.95 million in the IP monetization deal it signed in Q3 2021. The company reports Q4 positive net income of $3.7 million. Cash and equivalents at the end of the quarter increased to $21.4 million (up from $14.6 million in the end of 2020).

Everspin has seen excellent Toggle MRAM shipments and revenue, but the company's STT-MRAM was flat as its largest customer was also impacted by supply constraints (not related to Everspin). The company expects STT-MRAM revenue to remain flat for the new couple of quarters. It expects Q1 2022 revenues to be in the range of $13.4 million to $14.2 million.