August 2008

Hitachi and RIEC Developed 'Nonvolatile IC' using Spintronics tech based on MTJ device

Hitachi and the Tohoku University's Research Institute of Electrical Communication (RIEC) said they developed a new integrated circuit that integrates an arithmetic function and a nonvolatile memory function by using spintronics and Si technologies.

The IC is made by placing a MTJ (magnetic tunnel junction) MRAM device on a Si chip with a MOS transistor. The data transfer rate is faster, and the IC is small using that method.

The idea is that a circuit that combines memory and a arithmetic unit is faster and smaller

The prototype chip is a full adder composed of the SUM and CARRY blocks. The SUM block measures 15.5 x 10.7?m, and the CARRY block is 13.9 x 10.7?m. The CMOS logic block was formed with Hitachi's 0.18?m process technology.

Read more here (TechOn japan)

Read the full story Posted: Aug 28,2008

Researchers in Germany have built a spin-torque system that is dramatically faster than any other.

Researchers in Germany have built a spin-torque system that is dramatically faster than any other. Santiago Serrano-Guisan and Hans Schumacher of the Physical-Technical Federal Laboratory of Germany worked with University of Bielefeld and Singulus Nano-Deposition Technologies researchers to build it from tiny pillars 165 nanometres tall.

The top end of each pillar acts as a variable magnet that stores data, whereas the bottom ends are fixed magnets. A current passing through a pillar from bottom to top has the spin of its electrons lined up by the permanent-magnet region. When those electrons reach the pillars' other end, they flip the variable magnet region's field to match. The field can be flipped back by reversing the current.

Read the full story Posted: Aug 14,2008

Crocus Establishes Prototyping Environment for Next Generation MRAM Technology

Crocus Technologies today announced that it has qualified its complete manufacturing environment for the development and rapid prototyping of MRAM. Building upon conventional 130nm CMOS sourced at a leading foundry, Crocus is leveraging Silicon Valley-based SVTC's capabilities to complete the integration of its second-generation MRAM technology. To complement these two facilities and achieve a complete MRAM manufacturing capability, Crocus has invested more than 5 million Euros to purchase and deploy a full suite of dedicated magnetic-technology wafer processing tools for the deposition, annealing, patterning, and metrology of MRAM memory chips. With this investment and these achievements, Crocus has positioned itself as one of the very few companies in the world capable of fully integrating advanced MRAM onto CMOS.

Crocus' proprietary MRAM technology solves all the well-known problems encountered in earlier MRAM developments. The company's technology has demonstrated its stability, reliability, data retention, endurance, and scalability, while exhibiting high speed, low power dissipation, and excellent resistance to external perturbation.

"We found at SVTC an ideal incubation and development environment," said Jean Pierre Braun, founder and CEO of Crocus Technologies. "SVTC is a modern foundry that provides a broad range of necessary equipment and processes. Furthermore, we have been able to install some of our own equipment in SVTC's clean room, and we have deployed a complete, full-time Crocus team there. This has allowed us to develop and integrate our proprietary MRAM manufacturing process with outstanding efficiency while maintaining full confidentiality of our IP and know-how."

"SVTC's independent development foundry model is a great fit for companies working to commercialize novel technologies as quickly as possible, while maintaining strong intellectual property positions," said Scott Marquardt, VP of Marketing at SVTC.

Read the full story Posted: Aug 13,2008