January 2014

Crocus Technology announced that ARM licensed the company's Magnetic Logic Unit (MLU) technology. The MLU is a CMOS based rugged magnetic technology capable of offering important advantages in performance, size and security for embedded micro-controllers. MLU can replace both flash and RAM and are suitable for mobile and security applications.

Crocus will provide ARM with access to its MLU technology, including MRAM blocks in sub-90 nm technology which can replace traditional flash memory, plus MIP (Match In Place) enabled technology which enhances the security of keys and other secret data. Crocus has been co-developing the MLU technology together with IBM since 2011.

MicroSense announced that they installed a full suite of STT-MRAM magnetic metrology tools at a leading edge semiconductor manufacturer. These metrology systems characterize the magnetic properties of multi-layer 300 mm wafers or coupons used in the development and manufacturing of Perpendicular and In-Plane STT-MRAM.

The company says that this is the first time a major customer ordered a full suite of their tools to use in an STT-MRAM program. This order includes a Polar Kerr system for 200mm or 300mm Perpendicular STT-MRAM wafers and a KerrMapper tool for 200mm or 300mm In-plane STT-MRAM wafers. MicroSense's EZ Vibrating Sample Magnetometer measures sample coupons from Perpendicular or In-Plane STT-MRAM wafers.

Tweaktown posted an interview with Everspin's CEO, Philip LoPresti, who explains the company technology and business.

Philip says that while Everspin currently ships only 64 Mbit STT-MRAM, they have plans to increase the density up to a Gigabit within the next few years.

Researchers from the National University of Singapore developed a new MRAM device structure technology that may prove to be easier to implement and have high reliability compared to current MRAM structures.

The researchers explain that current MRAM uses horizontal (in-plane) current-induced magnetization. This requires ultra-thin ferromagnetic structures which are challenging to implement and also suffer from low reliability. The new design uses magnetic multilayer structures as thick as 20 nanometer, providing an alternative film structure for transmission of electronic data and storage.