Saied Tehrani, EverSpin's CEO, says that "Toggle [MRAM] is in production today,'Spin torque is more of an R&D project for us and a number of other companies.''. Earlier today EverSpin released a couple of new MRAM products.
EverSpin technologies is expanding its MRAM product line to address the storage and consumer markets with the introduction of new byte-wide and small footprint ball grid array (BGA) products. The Everspin MRAM product family now includes 8-bit and 16-bit data widths and SRAM compatible TSOPII and BGA package options, serving the majority of battery-backed SRAM and non-volatile RAM applications.
Everspin’s 8-bit MR2A08 and MR0A08 byte-wide MRAMs and 16-bit MR2A16 MRAM BGA device are available now for production, serving a wide range of computer, consumer, industrial, automotive and aerospace applications.
Everspin’s two new 8-bit wide MRAM products are ideal memory companions for 8-bit microprocessors and application specific standard products (ASSP) like RAID-on-Chip used in storage systems and computer servers. Everspin also offers a new 48-pin BGA package option for both the current 16-bit wide and new 8-bit wide MRAM product families. The BGA package is pin-out and footprint compatible with low-power SRAMs. This allows customers to shrink MRAM board area by three times compared to a TSOPII package, making it attractive for consumer applications.
The 4Mbit MR2A08 MRAM and 1Mbit MR0A08 MRAM are both 3.3-volt devices featuring 35-ns read/write cycle times with unlimited endurance. The MR2A08 asynchronous memory device is organized as 512K words by 8 bits, and the MR0A08 is organized as 128K words by 8 bits. Industry-standard SRAM timing enables easy connection to existing microcontroller and system designs. The devices are housed in 44-pin TSOP Type II or 48-pin BGA packages, which are both fully RoHS-compliant, and are available in commercial and industrial temperature versions.
The MR2A16A MRAM BGA is a 4Mbit 3.3-volt device featuring a 35-ns read/write cycle time and unlimited endurance. This asynchronous memory device is organized as 256K words by 16 bits. The device is available in commercial, industrial and extended temperatures, and its industry-standard SRAM pin-out and timing enables easy connection to existing microcontroller and systems designs.
The 1Mb and 4Mb 8-bit commercial temperature MRAM in the TSOPII package and the 4Mb16-bit commercial-temperature MRAM in the BGA package are available now. Suggested resale pricing in 10K quantities for the 1Mb MR0A08AYS35 is $8.08 (USD). Pricing for both the 4Mb parts, MR2A08AYS35 and MR2A16AMA35, in 10K quantities is $14.25 (USD) each.
Renesas plans to start shipping MRAM samples in 2009. These products will be based on 90nm tech. Last month they said they will ship products in 2010. So samples in 2009, products in 2010. Renesas will also manufacture microcontrollers with embedded MRAM, also to be sold in 2010.
Renesas already has made 130nm MRAM, but they want to make it cheaper and with better power consumption, and this is why they're going to make then at 90nm.Â
Aviza Technology, a supplier of advanced semiconductor capital equipment and process technologies for the global semiconductor industry and related markets, today announced the introduction of StratIon(TM) fxP, the world's first 300-mm ready Ion Beam Deposition system.
The first system was shipped to CEA-LETI-MINATEC in Grenoble, France, one of Europe's foremost applied research centers in electronics and Spintronics. The StratIon fxP will be used to develop next-generation magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ)-based devices for applications including MRAM, hard disk drive read heads or RF components. The system will also be used for the deposition of metal gates for advanced CMOS processes. In addition to the system shipment, Aviza and CEA-LETI have signed a three year joint development program covering the development of MTJ deposition processes for future MRAM and Spintronics devices.
Seagate's CEO, Bill Watkins, said that the company is investing "a lot of money" into what the company thinks will be the next-generation memory technology after MLC.
Bill says that the technology "would be something like a spin around magnetic RAM, it could be a phase shift type of process. I won't go into [details] because it's kind of proprietary". The company is looking at several technology, and says it will not develop flash products as it "doesn't pay".