IBM, Samsung Put New Spin on MRAM

11-nm spin-torque readied

R. Colin Johnson, EETimes
7/7/2016 09:00 AM EDT

LAKE WALES. Fla—On the 20th anniversary of its invention at IBM Research, fabled nonvolatile "universal" magnetic random access memory (MRAM) is getting an upgrade. IBM announced today (July 7) that, in collaboration with foundry-giant Samsung, it is using a spin-transfer torque (STT) design on its MRAM.

Faster than flash and as dense as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), this universal memory genre is now being readied for manufacturing with a final round of material optimization and engineering finesse at IBM (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.). IBM says its STT MRAM access clocks at 10 nanoseconds and ultra-low-power (7.5 microamps), claiming its MRAM outperforms flash at the speed of DRAM. Applications include everything from tiny Internet of Things (IoT) system-on-chips (SoCs) to vast mass storage systems for servers.

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