Magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM)

Jacob Lauzon, Ryan McLaughlin

Agenda
● Current solutions
● Why MRAM?
● What is MRAM?
● History
● How it works
● Comparisons
● Outlook
Current Memory Types

Memory Market primarily consists of:

DRAM: High Density to Price Ratio
SRAM: High Performance/Speed
Flash: Non-Volatile Memory
Comparison of Memory Types

DRAM SRAM Flash Memory

Volatile Yes Yes No

Speed Medium Fast Slow

Power High Medium Low

consumption

Density Medium Low High

Infinite Durability Yes Yes No

Typical Use Main Memory Cache External

Why do we need
MRAM?
Quest for Universal Memory

Universal Memory aims to provide:

● High Density
● High Speed
● Non-Volatility
● High Durability
What is MRAM?

Non-volatile random access memory

Stores data using magnetic charge rather than
electrical charge
Very high speed (SRAM speed) with high
density (DRAM density)
Low power consumption (30% of DRAM)
Key Players: Everspin(Motorola/Freescale), Canon, Crocus, Cypress, IBM, Intel, Infineon
MRAM Timeline
● 1955 – Magnetic core memory developed, which influenced
MRAM Writing
● 1989 - IBM made key "giant magnetoresistive effect”
discoveries
○ Adjacent ferromagnets with parallel alignment have a
low resistance, while antiparallel layers produce a high
resistance.
○ IBM was able to reproduce the GMR effect with room
temperature, less precise thin film structures -
implemented in 16.8 GB HDD Write Heads
● 1995 – Motorola began developing MRAM
Single Cell/Bit
Spin Valve/Magnetic Tunnel Junction (MTJ) Consists of:
● “Free” magnet, which changes polarization
● Thin insulation layer AKA Tunnel Barrier
● “Fixed” magnet, with permanent polarization
● Transistor for selecting Read Cell
Multiple Cells/Mem Hierarchy

Individual Spin Valves/MTJs are connected in a

2D grid by “bit lines” perpendicular to “word
lines”.
Reading
Magnetic tunnel effect causes resistance to change
based on the polarity of the plates
Resistance can be determined by measuring the current
through the cell
Write Methods: Toggle
Decoders are used to power the appropriate bit line and word line for
the write.
This induces a magnetic field at the junction of the two lines which the
free magnet picks up
The direction of the current will determine polarization
Disadvantages:
● High current required to induce the field
● Size limitation: Cells need to be spread out to avoid the the induced
field overlapping into other cells
Write Methods: Spin Transfer Torque
● Uses spin-polarized current
to change the polarization
of the free magnet
● Uses much less current
than Toggle method
● Does not induce a magnetic
field so overlapping with
other cells is not a problem
Write Methods: Others

Thermal-Assisted Switching (TAS) - Uses

toggle method but heats up the junction during
a write to reduce the field needed
Vertical-Transport (V) - Sends current through
a vertical column to change the polarity. The
direction of the current determines the polarity
Comparison to Other Memory

MRAM DRAM SRAM Flash Memory

Volatile No Yes Yes No

Speed Fast Medium Fastest Slow

Power Lowest High Medium Low

consumption

Density Medium High Low Highest

Infinite Yes Yes Yes No

Durability
Could MRAM be Universal Memory?

● SRAM vs. MRAM performance gap could be

forgivable.
● DRAM/Flash vs. MRAM density gap is too
large.

● Increased density -> Sufficient

● Increased performance -> Optimal
MRAM Timeline
● 2000 - MRAM joint development started by IBM and Infineon, and Spintec created a patent with Spin Torque
Transfer
● 2003 – 128 kbit MRAM chip was manufactured using 180 nm technology
● 2005 - Record MRAM cell clocked at 2 GHz, Renesas Tech. Development of 65 nm STT-MRAM begins
● 2006 - First commercial MRAM modules (4 Mbit,25$) - Freescale
● 2008 - Toshiba continues development of 1Gb MRAM, predicting DRAM replaced by MRAM in 7 years
● 2009 - STT-MRAM advancements announced by Crocus that compete with DRAM/Flash
● 2011 - Samsung developed Spin Valves/Magnetic Tunnel Junctions with 17 nm technology
● 2012 - Announcement from Buffalo to produce first SSD with MRAM Cache (Everspin STT-MRAM)
● 2013 - Buffalo produces Industrial SSD utilizing Everspin's EMD3D064M 64Mb DDR3 STT-MRAM chip for
cache
Future Outlook
CURRENT FUTURE
● Everspin produces ● Potential to replace DRAM
EMD3D064M - 64Mb DDR3 ST- ● Higher density than DRAM
MRAM, scalable to 1Gb possible, since not limited by the
● Currently MRAM cannot fully number of electrons in the area.
replace DRAM, SRAM, or flash ● Instant Startup Devices
● MRAM can be used for small ● 20 Company Alliance(Micron
density requirement applications Technology, Hitachi) - Mass
that require very low power production research
consumption or cannot be ● Commercial Mass Production is
accessed for long periods of targeted for 2018
time (i.e. satellites)
Questions?
Bibliography
● http://en.kisti.re.kr/blog/post/scientists-find-solution-preventing-malfunction-next-generation-magnetic-memory/
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tunnel-junctions-mtjs-for-spintronics-application#F6
● http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mram
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● http://www.eejournal.com/archives/articles/20130107-mram/
● http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/11/everspin-11-14-12-02.jpg
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MRAM