Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute (TSRI) has developed a new version of Spin Orbit Torque Magnetic Random-Access Memory (SOT-MRAM), which is expected to further the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and self-driving cars, TSRI said Tuesday at press conference.

At the press event held by the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL), which TSRI is affiliated with, NARL head Kuang-Chong Wu (吳光鐘) said that semiconductor chips are in high demand in AI, wearable computers, and the Internet of Things sector.

Magnetic random-access memory (MRAM) boasts the advantages of both flash memory for being non-volatile and dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) for being quick to operate, so MRAM is expected to become the mainstream of the next generation of memory, Wu added.

SOT-MRAM is faster, more durable, and energy-saving than Spin Transfer Torque Magnetic Memory (STT-MRAM), a mature technology manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Samsung, and Intel, said Li Kai-Shih (李愷信), head of TSRI’s process integration department.

Li pointed out that the development of SOT-MRAM has a high technical threshold as the TSRI team created a stacked structure of more than 30 atomic-level thin films and reduced the size by introducing vertical anisotropy.

He also emphasized that SOT-MRAM’s nanosecond-level high-speed calculation and small size can be used as embedded components in the future, exceeding the current limitations of transistors and paving the way for advances in the development of AI and self-driving cars.

SOT-MRAM is still in the initial stage of academic innovation and there are still challenges that need to be overcome before it can reach the practical application stage, said TSRI deputy director Hsieh Chia-min (謝嘉民).

TSRI is the world’s second organization to have developed SOT-MRAM with vertical anisotropy, with Intel being the first.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel