Freescale

Everspin announced that it is providing MRAM technology so Skyera, which will use MRAM chips on its newly announced Skyhawk MLC NAND flash-based enterprise solid-state storage system. This is the industry’s first all solid-state storage appliance that uses MRAM.

Skyer's system is based entirely on 19/20 nanometer consumer Multi Level Cell (MLC) NAND Flash at a system price of less than $3 per gigabyte before compression and deduplication. The compact half-depth 1u form factor sports a 44 terabytes of high performance, low latency native capacity. Skyera says that Everspin MRAM allows them to overcome any point of failure within the system memory while providing the best possible performance to supercharge enterprise-class applications.

NVE reported their financial results, and in the conference call they gave some interesting new details about their MRAM program. Daniel Baker (the CEO) says that NVE 'overcame many of the technical challenges in making MRAM'. In fact, the company is already shipped some sample prototype MRAM chips, but they don't call it 'production' yet. The samples will be for specialized niche applications - but the company sees this as a 'vehicle to develop MRAM technology'. In the future the company hopes to address large volume anti-tamper applications such as to prevent identity theft or improve the security of credit cards and smart cards.

In regards to Everspin being a licensee, here's what they say - "EverSpin is a company that's making and selling commercial MRAM, and they are spin-off of Freescale, which was a spin-off of Motorola. So, we have a long historical relationship. Motorola was an early investor in NVE, and we had research contracts and intellectual property agreements with Motorola. So, we believe that they share our vision for a very bright future for MRAM"

Freescale has decided to form a new company called EverSpin, and to give its MRAM technology portfolio to this new company. Several companies (New Venture Partners, Sigma Partners, Lux Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Epic Ventures) will invest 20M$ in the new company.

EverSpin will operate in a portion of Freescale's Chandler (Arizona, US) semiconductor foundry and take on about 50 existing company employees who were associated with the MRAM technology.

Freescale says they have sold over 1 million MRAM chips since 2006 (when it was introduced). They are planning to reduce the cost, and "increase its uses" to boost sales.

UPDATE - in a street.com article, Freescale claims 45 customers for the MRAM chip.

Freescale is providing non-volatile MRAM technology for an industrial touch-screen application developed by Siemens' Industry Automation division. Freescale's 4Mbit MRAM device has been integrated into Siemens' Simatic Multipanel MP 277 and MP 377 human machine interface (HMI) used in industrial automation systems.

Siemens chose Freescale's MRAM device for its HMI application because it provides an easy-to-use, non-volatile memory that maintains software-programmable logic controller (SoftPLC) process data for Siemens' HMI platforms without battery-backup. The user-programmable SoftPLC option enables the implementation of a comprehensive, expandable machine control system in a small form factor that helps reduce overall system cost. The multi-panels allow the integration of several automation tasks on a single platform using the SoftPLC.

Freescale is providing MRAM non-volatile memory technology for environmentally harsh applications, such as military, aerospace, industrial and automotive systems. Angstrom Aerospace recently announced the use of Freescale's extended temperature range 4Mbit MRAM in its magnetometer subsystem, which will be launched into space on board a Japanese research satellite.

Angstrom Aerospace is using Freescale's MRAM in its Tohoku-AAC MEMS Unit (TAMU), a magnetometer subsystem for the Japanese research satellite called SpriteSat. In developing the Satellite subsystem, Angstrom Aerospace worked closely with Dr. Johan Akerman, a renowned Swedish professor of material physics and applied spintronics at the Royal Institute of Technology.

"I've worked with MRAM for years, and when it comes to reliability and endurance for data storage, there is no comparison to Freescale's MRAM products," said Dr. Johan Akerman. "Freescale's 4Mbit MRAM device replaces both flash and battery-backed SRAM in Angstrom's module for the SpriteSat. The ability to reconfigure critical programs and route definitions during various stages of a satellite mission is a significant benefit."

TAMU plans to provide SpriteSat with magnetometer data of the Earth's magnetic field. SpriteSat is built by the Tohoku University located in Sendai, Japan, under the supervision of Professor Kazuya Yoshida. Scheduled to be launched in late 2008, SpriteSat's mission is to monitor "sprite" phenomenon (lightning effects) in Earth's upper atmosphere.

Angstrom Aerospace selected Freescale's 4Mbit MRAM device because it combines non-volatile memory with extended temperature operation, unlimited endurance and long-term data retention even when the power fails. The MRAM stores program data and FPGA configuration data on a single memory, allowing Angstrom Aerospace to reduce all storage requirements to one chip, reducing board area. At the same time, the flexibility of MRAM storage allows the system to be reconfigured significantly in space.

"Our extended temperature MRAM provides unique high temperature and high reliability capabilities for rugged system designs, such as the TAMU," said David Bondurant, MRAM product manager at Freescale. "MRAM benefits also extend to the transportation and industrial markets, where Freescale is working with developers who require growing amounts of fast but cost-effective memories that are ideally non-volatile and capable of large numbers of read and write cycles."

In addition to Angstrom Aerospace's MRAM deployment, e2v, a leading designer, developer and manufacturer of specialized components for some of the world's leading OEMs in aerospace and defense, has announced licensing of Freescale's MR2A16A product. The company has released an extended-reliability version with full-performance operations across the entire military temperature range, ideally fulfilling avionics, defense and aerospace application requirements.

E2v has introduced an MRAM which is an extended-reliability version of the MR2A16A from Freescale Semiconductor.

The EV2A16A operates at SRAM speeds with symmetrical 35ns read and write cycles. Its standard SRAM interface allows a seamless system integration of this memory device by directly connecting to standard memory controllers.

“The EV2A16A is the first device of a new family that is scheduled to be offered with higher screening grades for this 4Mbit device. The company also plans to introduce higher density products within the coming months,” said Eric Marcelot, marketing manager at e2v.

The EV2A16A is available in a standard 44-lead TSOP type II package in both extended (-40 to +110 deg C) and military (-55 to +125 deg C) temperature ranges.

Read more here (ElectronicsWeekly) 

Freescale Semiconductor today announced the industrial and extended temperature qualification of its award-winning magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) products. Freescale's entire 1Mbit, 2Mbit and 4Mbit MRAM families are now available at commercial (0 C to 70 C), industrial (0 C to 85 C) and extended (-40 C to105 C) temperature ranges.

The industrial and extended temperature range MRAM devices are designed to be used in rugged application environments, such as industrial, military, aerospace and automotive designs. The commercial MRAM devices are intended for less environmentally demanding applications, such as networking, security, data storage, gaming and printers.

“Freescale is dedicated to expanding the market for MRAM into all market segments,” said David Bondurant, MRAM product manger at Freescale. “Extended temperature qualification of MRAM demonstrates our industry-leading reliability when compared to other non-volatile memory products.”

MRAM offers exceptional price/performance within the high-density nvRAM market by combining the best features of non-volatile memory and RAM to enable "instant-on" capability and power loss protection in new classes of intelligent electronic devices. In addition, MRAM devices operate at SRAM speeds over a wide range of temperatures without the need for battery-backup. 

Freescale Semiconductor, a global leader in the design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors, has introduced a series of 2Mbit magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) devices, providing designers a broader portfolio of MRAM products for a range of commercial, industrial and automotive applications. The 2Mbit MRAM replaces two current 1Mbit nvRAM parts with a single device designed to help reduce system cost and board area.

The 2Mbit devices round out Freescale's award-winning MRAM family of products with a choice of commercial, industrial and extended temperature ranges (operating from -40o to 105oC). MRAM devices are well-suited for a variety of applications, such as networking, security, data storage, gaming and printers. The extended temperature version is suitable for use in rugged application environments, such as military, aerospace and automotive designs.

E2v is continuing its microprocessor agreement with Freescale Semiconductor and is considering expanding the scope of the deal to include magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) products.

The agreement supports E2v's production of extended reliability versions of its microprocessors through additional screening, packaging and qualifications to meet military and aerospace standards.

“We also look forward to expanding our portfolio to include MRAM products. They will ideally complement our microprocessor products for embedded applications in severe environments by combining higher speed and increased reliability compared to other non-volatile memory solutions,” said Thierry Gouvernel, general manager of E2v’s microprocessors and services business.