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.
In October 2010 Crocus announced that they have successfully integrated their Thermally Assisted Switching (TAS)-based MRAM technology into TowerJazzâs 0.13-micron CMOS process, and will start mass production in 2011. This never materialized, hopefully this time this agreement will bring real prodcuts. In 2009 Tower invested $1.25 million in Crocus and Tower is probably still holding a stake in the company.
