Fujitsu Laboratories and the University of Toronto announced that they have jointly developed the world's first high-reliability read-method for use with spin-torque-transfer (STT) MRAM that is insusceptible to erroneous writes.
STT-MRAM circuit embedded in a CMOS chipThe newly developed read-method uses a negative resistance that is intermediate between the MTJ's high resistance and low resistance on a parallel circuit. If the MTJ is in a high-resistance state, this circuit exhibits negative-resistance characteristics. If the MTJ is in a low-resistance state, then it exhibits normal-resistance characteristics. These characteristics allow the resistance value to be read at lower voltages than before, suppressing the tendency of the read operation to reverse the direction of magnetization and avoiding the problem of erroneous write operations.
Fujitsu Laboratories and the University of Toronto plan to continue with R&D related to STT MRAM to strive toward practical implementation, such as lowering write currents and developing process technologies for further miniaturization.
