May 2013

Crocus Technology signed a license and joint-promotion agreement with TowerJazz, for the use of Crocus' Magnetic Logic Unit (MLU) process technology. TowerJazz customers will be able to use Crocus' technology in embedded System-On-Chip (SoC) applications. First products based on MLU are expected on the market before the end of 2013 as some customers are already in the process of adopting the technology.

Crocus's MLU blocks are used in magnetic sensors and secure embedded memories. The memory is fast (like DRAM) and non volatile. It also includes unique security options. Crocus actually plans to produce (at TowerJazz's Migdal Haemek manufacturing facility in Israel) their own magnetic sensor and non-volatile memory products.

GlobalFoundries announced it is joining Qualcomm and Imec (and other companies) in their joint development effort to advance STT-MRAM technology. GlobalFoundries is the first IC maker to join imec's R&D program on emerging memory technologies. Imec says that they now have the complete infrastructure necessary for STT-MRAM R&D.

Imec and the other members aim to explore the potential of STT-MRAM, including performance below 1ns and scalability beyond 10nm for embedded and standalone applications.

Researchers from the University of Delaware confirmed that electrons generate a magnetic field in a ferromagnetic material This new field does not radiate beyond the ferromagnetic material and so may lead towards high-density MRAM memory cells (in current technology it is difficult to shield the magnetic fields between memory cells).

In materials made from two layers of a heavy metal and a ferromagnetic material, the spin current diffuses into the ferromagnetic material. When this happens, a magnetic field is generated. This magnetic field does not radiate beyond the ferromagnetic material (unlike regular magnetic fields).