FYI@Librarian: Magnetoelectric Random Access Memory (MeRAM)

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Magnetoelectric Random Access Memory (MeRAM)

Magnetoelectric Random Access Memory (MeRAM)

A team at IIT-Roorkee has developed an evolved memory device which can read and write memory at a high speed, while consuming low energy. Researchers at the department of physics and the Centre for Nanotechnology at Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee (IIT-R) have developed a magnetic chip after working on this device for five years, while research on the uses of different metallic alloys has been continuing for over a decade.

“This is an energy-efficient, four-logic state memory device known as Magnetoelectric Random Access Memory (MeRAM) and has been fabricated at the Functional Nanomaterials Research Laboratory at the IIT using the magnetron sputtering technique,” says Davinder Kaur Walia, professor, department of physics and the Centre for Nanotechnology, IIT-R and principal investigator of the project.

Currently, all memory devices are two-bit which means they read information using the digital binary of 0 and 1.

However, four-logic states allow faster reading and writing of memory.

Four-logic states also utilise electric and magnetic fields at the same time.

The development of such a chip suggests a new leap of technology, as currently the key limitation of memory-related technology was the two-bit ability.

“Globally, researchers have achieved the four-logic state but have been unable to distinguish and control them, which is what we have tried to do,” says Walia. “To achieve this, a new material called Ferromagnetic Shape Memory Alloys (FSMA) was used, and the concept of composite barrier was chosen, which helped in achieving the goal of distinguishable memory logic states.” The current ultimate memory cell has shown a tremendous improvement, of nearly 140%, in the memory function, she added.

The applications of this chip can be found across domains such as signal processing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and virtual reality among others.

It can impact the speed at which memory-intensive tasks such as video viewing or playing mobile games are undertaken.

Apart from the fact that the device consumes low energy, the key advantage of this device over existing technology is its non-volatility which means it is capable of retaining data even when the power is off.

Additionally, the chip utilises voltage instead of large electric current to switch the magnetic bits and write data into the memory, which not only makes the process faster but also reduces cost per bit.

Currently, the institution is looking for industrial partners who can manufacture the product for application.