[Follow Deep Tech] Semiconductor memory that overturns common sense, what is MRAM?

MRAM (Magnetic Recording Memory) that utilizes the magnetic property (spin) of electrons. It is a semiconductor memory that realizes "non-volatile and low power consumption" that overturns conventional wisdom.

Power Spin (Aoba-ku, Sendai City) is a startup spun out from Tohoku University that has led MRAM research. Aiming to change the electronics game with the world's most advanced technology.

Electrons have the properties of magnets as well as electric charges, but normal CPUs and memories use only the properties of electric charges to store data. Therefore, if the power is turned off, the data will be lost. In order to retain data while performing calculations, it was necessary to keep the power on at all times, and standby power was consumed even when not in operation. It also needed power to move data to a hard disk or other storage device that held data without supplying power.

MRAM, on the other hand, uses a technology called "spintronics" to retain data using the properties of magnets. Data of "0 or 1" is assigned to the S pole and N pole that repel each other. It is a mechanism that realizes inefficiency without energization and reduces power consumption.

In ordinary processors, the logic part that performs calculations and the memory part that holds data are separated, but the spintronics processor developed by PowerSpin combines the logic part and the memory part to achieve power saving and arithmetic performance. Secured. By energizing only when performing calculations, standby power for data retention is reduced. It can achieve at least one tenth of the power consumption compared to existing processors. Since it can operate with low power, it is possible to improve the computing power that has been suppressed to avoid heat generation of the device. It is possible to eliminate the trade-off between "computing power and power consumption" that conventional processors had.

"What we're aiming for is a position like the British arm." Tetsuro Endo, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), describes his company's business model as follows. The semiconductor industry, which requires huge investments, is undergoing a horizontal division of labor, with established players such as U.S. NVIDIA and Qualcomm, which are only involved in development, and Taiwan's TSMC, which is only responsible for manufacturing. By developing businesses for each process, these companies reduce the burden of investment and respond to the rapid generation change of semiconductor products.

Arm designs semiconductor circuits and makes a profit by licensing these blueprints to other companies. In addition, the company also earns royalty income from the final product according to the number of products produced. In fact, ARM processors are used in many end products, from high-tech products such as smartphones to embedded products for industrial equipment.

PowerSpin, like Arm, plans to license the blueprints for spintronics processors. For the time being, we aim to use it as a substitute for SRAM, which is used as cache memory. “For high-tech products, performance is more important than price. In the future, it is assumed that it will replace DRAM, which will be more widely used.

In November 2021, we will raise 700 million yen from JAFCO Group and others. Mr. Kengo Miura, a person in charge of the JAFCO Group, speaks of the company's strengths, saying, "It is a technology with a large social impact, and we also have a strong patent portfolio for commercialization." The company plans to use the funds raised to hire circuit design engineers. It also has a base in Tokyo nearby. Etsuo Fukuda, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), said confidently, "This business model has a high profit margin. If we can make sales, we can take it to the public market."

In today's highly computerized world, the performance of semiconductors is a component that determines the quality of any system. If the amount of information processing increases in the future, there is no doubt that the amount of electricity used will increase. Up to now, miniaturization has been responsible for the evolution of semiconductor development, but as the decarbonized society progresses, energy conservation will become an important factor for differentiation.

In MRAM, domestic companies such as Sony Group and Kioxia Holdings (former Toshiba Memory Holdings), TSMC, South Korea's Samsung Electronics, and U.S. Intel are also promoting research and development. It is one of the key technologies for achieving both computing power and energy saving in the future.

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COMMENT

I am deeply moved by the fact that a cutting-edge memory technology startup is emerging from Japan. It can be said that Japan is falling behind other countries in terms of production, but cutting-edge research remains, mainly at Tohoku University. In particular, the technology that fuses logic and memory is truly revolutionary. Conventionally, iron, which is the main component of magnets, cannot be mixed with silicon. This is where the company really sucks. It is expected that the replacement of SRAM and DRAM will progress.