Magnetic RAM (MRAM)
Magnetic RAM (MRAM) is a new memory technology with access and cost characteristics comparable to those of conventional dynamic RAM (DRAM) and the non-volatility of magnetic media such as disk. That is MRAM retains its memory even after removing power from the device. Such a non-volatile memory has important military applications for missiles and satellites. Clearly such a device could also have important commercial applications if the non-volatility were accomplished without impacting other properties of the memory, notably density, read and write speed, and lifetime. IBM in cooperation with Infineon is promising to launch this new technology ,that will eliminate the boot-up process of a computer and thus enable it to turn on as instantly as a television or radio, using memory cells based on magnetic tunnel junctions.
INTRODUCTION
You hit the power button on your television and it instantly comes to life. But do the same thing with your computer and you have to wait a few minutes while it goes through its boot up sequence. Why can’t we have a computer that turns on as instantly as a television or radio? IBM, in cooperation with Infineon, is promising to launch a new technology in the next few years that will eliminate the boot-up process. Magnetic random access memory (MRAM) has the potential to store more data, access that data faster and use less power than current memory technologies. The key to MRAM is that, as its name suggests, it uses magnetism rather than electrical power to store data. This is a major leap from dynamic RAM (DRAM), the most common type of memory in use today, which requires a continuous supply of electricity and is terribly inefficient. Twenty-five years ago, DRAM overtook ferrite core memory in the race to rule the PC memory market. Now it looks like ferromagnetic technology could be making a comeback, with IBM Corp. and Infineon Technologies charging a joint team of 80 engineers and scientists with the task of making magnetic RAM (MRAM) a commercial reality within four years…
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