October 2009

Intel and Numonyx have announced a new memory technology that "paves the way for scalable, higher density phase change memory (PCM) products". They have created a 64Mb chip that enables to stack multiple layers of PCM arrays in a single die. They cal it PCMS (phase change memory and switch).

Researchers at the Montpellier Laboratory of Informatics, Robotics and Microelectronics (LIRMM), in France, say they have developed an MRAM-based FPGA circuit.

They use Thermally Assisted Switching (TAS)-MRAM with a small current for heating the Magnetic Junction Tunnel, allowing a higher sensitivity to magnetic fields. The magnetic field is induced by a current line above or below the junction depending on the technology.

Crocus Technology announced the development of a new STT-MRAM technology with a minimum feature size of 50nm that will deliver on the promise of using STT memory in high-density memory applications, that will be competitive with DRAM and NOR-Flash.

Crocus' development addresses two critical problems in the implementation of STT MRAM that have previously hampered competitiveness with other popular memory types: memory bit density and stability. Crocus has developed a magnetic cell with an industry leading dynamic (i.e. sub-10 nanosecond) write current level of 2x10(6) amp/cm(2), e.g. less than 100µA write current per bit, a major milestone which will remove a significant obstacle to bit cell scaling and density. Crocus' STT technology also provides for industry-leading data stability.