Ferroelectric RAM (FRAM)

FRAM memories are a promising candidate for future non-volatile memory applications with ultra-low power consumption. At Fraunhofer IPMS, hafnium oxide-based ferroelectrics are therefore being investigated for their use in CMOS chip fabrication. A 64-bit hafnium oxide-based FRAM demonstrator was developed for the investigation, with an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The system has an I²C interface enabling standard industrial tests for further investigation of key parameters: Storage property, storage duration and susceptibility to interference in memory matrices.

Properties of FRAM:

• Non-volatile memory
• Environmentally friendly, lead-free material
• CMOS compatible and scalable
• Fast read/write operations (in the nanosecond range)
• Low power consumption and voltage range
• 10 years storage reliability

Magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM)

Today, data is the lifeblood that disrupts many industries. The vast majority of this data is stored in the form of non-volatile magnetic bits in hard disk drives. This technology was developed more than half a century ago and has reached fundamental scaling limits that prevent further increases in storage capacity. New approaches are needed. Based on recent discoveries in spintronics, spin-based implementations such as Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM) or Racetrack Memory (RTM) are such approaches. Charge-to-spin conversion and vice versa is a key element in spin-based computing systems and is addressed in recent research. Spin-orbit coupling phenomena play a crucial role in both spin-orbit torque MRAM and RTM, where new materials with high spin Hall angles are needed. We explore the manufacturability of scaling to technologically relevant length scales and investigate fundamental obstacles and how they can be overcome. We fabricate single cells and arrays of nanoscale devices using an established set of materials and processes.

Properties

of MRAM :

• Non-Volatile: Retains data without power, making it ideal for applications where data persistence is crucial.
• Speed: Offers fast read and write speeds comparable to those of DRAM.
• Endurance: Can withstand a high number of read/write cycles, significantly higher than Flash memory.
• Low Power Consumption: Requires less power than traditional RAM technologies, especially during idle states.