October 2014

Everspin Technologies entered into a partnership with GlobalFoundries to build fully processed 300mm wafers with Everspin's ST-MRAM technology, starting with GF's 28-nm and 40-nm low-power CMOS platforms. As part of the agreement, GlobalFoundries invested an undisclosed amount in Everspin, and they already acquired ST-MRAM processing equipment (40-nm).

Everspin hopes that the new agreement will help drive ST-MRAM adoption and will offer higher volume production at lower cost. The company reports that they shipped over 40 million MRAM chips - which represents very fast growth as in August 2013 they reported selling 10 million MRAM chips so they sold almost 30 million chips in just over a year (it took them over 4 years to sell the first 10 million).

Crocus Technology launched a new project (called Miultismart) to develop secure multibit architecture for its Magnetic Logic Unit (MLU) technology. Crocus will collaborate with Gemalto and the French research laboratories at LIRMM and IM2NP.

A multibit architecture will enable Crocus to increase the memory density without changing the die size. As part of this project, Gemalto will develop a new operating system suitable for this MCU and LIRMM and IM2NP will test, qualify and characterize the end product - a secure microcontroller with a secure element.

A few days ago I reported that TDK will show a new STT-MRAM prototype, and now we have some more information and a couple of photos of the new test chip. TDK is showing their first STT-MRAM chip, a 8Mb device, produced on a 8" silicon substrate. 

This is the first time TDK exposed their STT-MRAM technology. Those MRAM chips were produced by TDK's Headway Technologies. TDK will not mass poroduce MRAM chips themselves but rather seek a chip-making partner to produce them. But this may take a while: TDK says it could be up to 10 years before the technology matures (earlier reports said TDK estimates that it will take 3 years to commercialize this technology).

According to a report from Japan, TDK Corp is going to present a prototype 8-Mbit STT-MRAM device today at Ceatec Japan 2014. The MRAM was produced on a 8" silicon substrate. Hopefully TDK will give more details on this achievement later today.

The report further says that TDK aims to commercialize STT-MRAM chips in 3-5 years.