Memory

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers now believe that carbon nanotubes can be used to detect nanoscale magnetic states (Spin) by changing their conductance. They demonstrated the change by embedding tiny nanoparticles of magnetic cobalt into multi-walled carbon nanotubes.

The researchers furthermore claim that their findings could enable spintronics applications, nanoscale storage devices and ultra-sensitive conductance detectors.

Via EETimes

MRAM-Info just published a great interview with Dr. Saied Teharni, Everspin's COO. Everspin is the world's leading MRAM company (spun off from Freescale), and are producing MRAM chips since 2006. Dr. Saied reveals plans for higher-density MRAM in 2009 - 16Mbit. Today's chips only go to 4Mbit. He also predicts that by 2015 MRAM will be able to compete with DRAM and FLASH (NOR) with densities.

MRAM is one of the most exciting Spintronics technologies, being commercialized today. 

Aviza Technology, a supplier of advanced semiconductor capital equipment and process technologies for the global semiconductor industry and related markets, today announced the introduction of StratIon(TM) fxP, the world's first 300-mm ready Ion Beam Deposition system.

Grandis announced that it has been awarded $6.0 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the initial phase of research to develop spin-transfer torque random access memory (STT-RAM) chips (for the 45 nm technology node and beyond). The total value of the effort, if all phases of the development program are completed, could be up to $14.7 million over four years.

A research team at Singapore A*STAR's Data Storage Institute (DSI) has invented a new phase change material that has the potential to change the design of future memory storage devices.

Phase change materials are substances that are capable of changing their structure between amorphous and crystalline at high speed. Currently, these materials are used to make Phase change memory (PCM), the most promising alternative to replace FLASH memory.

Conventionally, PCM is worked by changing phase change materials' structure through applying an electric current. Now, phase change might be effected by means of switching the new phase change materials by using magnetic fields.

The DSI research team led by Shi Luping, Ph.D., created this first phase change magnetic material by introducing iron atoms into Germanium-Antimony-Tellurium alloys (or GeSbTe) containing non-magnetic elements.

Hitachi and the Tohoku University's Research Institute of Electrical Communication (RIEC) said they developed a new integrated circuit that integrates an arithmetic function and a nonvolatile memory function by using spintronics and Si technologies.

The IC is made by placing a MTJ (magnetic tunnel junction) MRAM device on a Si chip with a MOS transistor. The data transfer rate is faster, and the IC is small using that method.

The idea is that a circuit that combines memory and a arithmetic unit is faster and smaller 

The prototype chip is a full adder composed of the SUM and CARRY blocks. The SUM block measures 15.5 x 10.7?m, and the CARRY block is 13.9 x 10.7?m. The CMOS logic block was formed with Hitachi's 0.18?m process technology.

This year’s fifth annual International Wafer-Level Packaging Conference (IWLPC), October 13-16, 2008 will be the largest ever, according to Dr. Ken Gilleo, IWLPC general chair.

“Exhibitor and attendee interest has been very high, and we anticipate this year’s event will be the largest, as well as the most comprehensive, in our history,” Dr. Gilleo said. With two months to go, the 60-table exhibitor space at our Wyndham Hotel venue is nearly fully occupied.

Researchers have developed a new method of studying tiny magnets that could yield high-density memory based on the emerging field of spintronics.

By implanting tiny “ferromagnets” onto processor chips, researchers expect to create small electronic devices and computers that never need to boot up. Ferromagnets are magnets made of ferrous metal such as iron, and are used in common items such as refrigerator magnets.

According to experimental physicist Chris Hammel, ferromagnets are central to incorporating memory directly into the basic logic elements at the heart of a computer.

Read more here (ITNews)

"Product sales drove strong profits,'' said NVE President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel A. Baker, Ph.D. "Gross margin was 71% of revenue, operating margin 52%, pretax margin 58%, and net margin 39%.''