Toshiba Corp. and NEC Corp. announced two key advancements toward the development of a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM).

A joint development program has been started since 2002 on the MRAM architecture and new cell design with high-speed characteristics and performance and yet cuts power consumption by half during data writes and reduces writing errors.

MRAM could replace flash and DRAM (dynamic RAM) by as early as 2010, its backers say, but only if certain technical problems are solved first.

One issue involves the size of MRAM cells, which tend to be bigger than those of other memory types. Bigger cells result in higher production costs and can also use a lot of power when writing data. The developers must also determine how to control magnetic fields in each memory cell, to stop the fields from interfering with their neighbors and creating errors.

For commercial application of MRAM technology to occur in mobile information equipment, cell size and power consumption must be reduced without losing operating speed.

By: DocMemory
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