Altis Semiconductor, a joint venture wafer fabrication facility owned by IBM and Infineon Technologies, has been given the job of turning magnetic random access memory (MRAM) technology into a commercial product.

Altis is expected to spend $200 million over the next three years and create 140 engineering posts, according to reports.

The development work is due to start at Altis in mid-2003, Altis said. The Altis' project is part of a long-standing global cooperation between IBM and Infineon on MRAM and is expected to play a leading role in bringing MRAM memory from the fundamental R&D stage to the industrial phase.

The intention to move MRAM technology to Altis has been announced before. Two years ago it was said that the transfer of MRAM technology from IBM and Infineon to Altis would lead commercial introduction of a 256- or 128-Mbit memory made using a 0.13-micron manufacturing process technology by about a year

MRAM uses magnetism instead of electrical charge to store data and, unlike conventional RAM, MRAM cells can maintain their state when power is turned off.

MRAM is one of two or three candidates as a “universal memory” technology offering the combination of non-volatility and high-speed random access, and which once mature could displace many established forms of solid-state memory. However, it does require an extremely thin metallic layer that has proved a challenge to master in manufacture. An alternative technology is ferroelectric memory, which Texas Instruments has endorsed as its candidate 'universal memory'.

By: DocMemory
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