IBM Research News

IBM Magentic RAM (MRAM) Images IBM is teaming with Infineon Corporation to develop Magnetic RAM chips, which have the potential to replace all computer memory RAM technologies in use today and can lead to instant-on computers and longer battery life for pervasive devices. Magnetic RAM chips use magnetic rather than electrical structures to store information, so they do not need to be constantly powered to retain data, like current RAM technologies. They are also much faster and less expensive to make than today's nonvolatile Flash memory. Stuart Parkin with one of his sputtering machines used to create magnetic tunnel junctions for Magnetic RAM experiments: Click on the images to download the larger size graphics Graphic showing how magnetic tunnel junction used in Magnetic RAM differs from magnetic structure used in GMR head in disk drives. Both use the "spintronic" or "spin-polarized" effect of magnetic fields on electrons. But while the GMR head is an in-plane structure with a metallic, non-magnetic spacer layer, magnetic tunnel junctions are through-the-plane sturctures with insulating (non metalllic, non-mangetic) spacer layers: Click on the images to download the larger size graphics

IBM MRAM CHIPS Click on the images to download the larger size graphics   Architecture of Magnetic RAM chip, showing how it reads and writes: Click on the images to download the larger size graphics