STT Structure Turbocharges MRAM

 

Announced at Intermag, a conference on applied magnetism, Spin Transfer Technologies (STT)'s Precessional Spin Current (PSC) structure has the potential to enhance MRAM's density and zero leakage capabilities, according to Mustafa Pinarbasi, the company's chief technology officer. In a telephone interview with EE Times, Pinarbasi said the structure could be applied in mobile, datacenter CPUs and storage, automotive, the Internet of Things and (IoT) and artificial intelligence, among others.

 

Pinarbasi said the PSC structure will increase the spin-torque efficiency of any MRAM device by 40 to 70 percent. This means not only are its data retention capabilities are much higher, but it will consume less power. Pinarbasi said the gain translates into retention times lengthening by a factor of more than 10,000 — so one hour becomes more than one year — but the write current is reduced. In addition, the PSC gets even more efficient as the perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction (pMTJ) gets smaller. “The structure that we have developed is a modular structure, and it really is an extension of the PMTJ device,” Pinarbasi said.