The first commercial Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM) device is now in volume production and available from Freescale Semiconductor.
Typical PC RAM is fast, but tends to be power-hungry and loses data when the power is off. Flash memory, which is commonly used in mobile devices like digital cameras and mobile phones, keeps data when the device is off, but is slow.
The new MRAM, however is expected to be both fast and keep its data when the power is switches off. That’s why some of its proponents call it the ‘Universal Chip.’
Freescale’s 4Mbit MRAM product is a fast, non-volatile memory with unlimited endurance - a combination of characteristics not available in any other individual semiconductor memory product. The device is built on a foundation of technology protected by more than 100 Freescale patents, including toggle-bit switching.
“With the commercialisation of MRAM, Freescale is the first-to-market with a technology of tremendous possibilities and profound implications,” said Bob Merritt, Semico Research. “Competition to become the first company to market MRAM technology was fierce. This is a significant achievement that certainly confirms the dedication of Freescale's engineering team.”
MRAM uses magnetic materials combined with conventional silicon circuitry to deliver the speed of SRAM with the non-volatility of Flash in a single, high endurance device. Freescale’s successful commercialisation of this technology could hasten new classes of electronic products offering dramatic advances in size, cost, power consumption and system performance.
“The commercial launch of the industry’s first MRAM product is a major milestone made possible by the pioneering research of Freescale technologists. It underscores our commitment to deliver breakthrough technology to our customers to address real-world challenges,” said Sumit Sadana, senior vice president, Strategy and Business Development, and Chief Technology Officer, Freescale. “The unique capabilities of MRAM technology have numerous exciting applications in our target markets.”
Freescale’s first commercial MRAM product, called the MR2A16A, is appropriate for a variety of commercial applications such as networking, security, data storage, gaming and printers. The part is engineered to be a reliable, economical, single-component replacement for battery-backed SRAM units. The device also could be used in cache buffers, configuration storage memories and other applications that require the speed, endurance and non-volatility of MRAM.
The MR2A16A is a commercial temperature range, 3.3-Volt device featuring 35 nanosecond read and write cycle times. It is an asynchronous memory organised as 256K words by 16 bits. An industry standard SRAM pinout arrangement allows for system design flexibility without bus contention. The device is housed in a 400 mil TSOP type-II RoHS package. It is manufactured at Freescale’s 200mm Chandler Fab in Arizona.
If all goes as expected, MRAM could replace today’s RAM in PCs and, eventually, micro hard disk drives in mobile devices. When used in PCs, it could enable them to boot up right away. Freescale said it has been working on the technology for more than a decade, as have other companies. In about 18 months, the company, based in Texas and Arizona, is planning to move MRAMs into consumer electronics, cars and more.
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BIOS, Jul 17, 06 | Print | Send | Comments (0)
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