Spin Transfer Technologies (STT) announced that its unique Precessional Spin Current (PSC) structure can increase the spin-torque efficiency of any MRAM device by 40-70 percent, which means dramatically higher data retention while consuming less power.
Following advanced testing, the company says that these higher spin-torque efficiencies translate to retention times lengthening by a factor of over 10,000 while reducing write current.
Spin Transfer Technologies explains that the PSC structure effectively decouples the static energy barrier that determines retention from the dynamic switching processes that govern the switching current. As a result, when the PSC structure is added to any pMTJ, benefits include:
- A higher energy barrier when the pMTJ does not have current flowing through it, which is ideal for retaining data for long periods
- An increased spin polarization when current is flowing and the device is writing a new state, which is ideal for minimizing switching current and extending the life of the device by many orders of magnitude
The PSC structure was designed from the outset to be modular and fabricated with any pMTJ â either STT's own pMTJs, or a pMTJ from other sources. The PSC structure is fabricated during the pMTJ deposition process and adds approximately 4nm to the height of the pMTJ stack. STT further says that the PSC structure is compatible with a wide range of standard MRAM manufacturing processes, materials and tool sets â enabling any foundry to readily incorporate the PSC structure into existing pMTJ stacks without adding significant complexity or manufacturing costs.
In October 2017 STT announced that it has signed an agreement with Tokyo Electron (TEL) to collaborate on the development of next-generation SRAM and DRAM-class STT-MRAM devices. Just a few days before that STT announced that it has raised $22.8 million via a convertible bridge facility while the company gets ready to complete its Series B funding round, targeting strategic investors and planned to conclude by end of Q1 2018.
In January 2017 STT announced that it has started to deliver fully functional ST-MRAM samples to customers in North America and Asia. The sample devices are based on the company's Orthogonal Spin Transfer Magneto-Resistive Random Access Memory technology (OST-MRAM), and use 80nm perpendicular magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs)., the latest generation of MRAM technology.
In September 2016 Spin Transfer Tech announced that it fabricated 20nm perpendicular MRAM magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) based on the company's Orthogonal Spin Transfer MRAM (OST-MRAM). In 2015 the company raised $70 million (in addition to $36 million raised in 2012). Back in October 2008 we interviewed Vincent Chun, who was then the executive in charge of the company.