ATIP99.035 : MRAM Development in Japan

ASIAN TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION PROGRAM (ATIP) REPORT: ATIP99.035 : MRAM Development in Japan To: Distribution From: reports@atip.or.jp This is file name "atip99.035" Date: 3 May 1999 ATIP99.035 : MRAM Development in Japan ABSTRACT: After the recent commercial success of giant magnetic reading (GMR) heads, the next promising application of spin electronics is thought to be MRAM (magnetic random access memory). This report reviews R&D on MRAM in Japan. KEYWORDS: Advanced Materials, Physics, Semiconductors, Magnetics COUNTRY: Japan

START OF REPORT ATIP99.035

Copyright (c) 1999 by the Asian Technology Information Program (ATIP) This material may not be published, modified or otherwise redistributed in whole or part, in any form, without prior approval by ATIP, which reserves all rights. Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM) Development in Japan (ATIP/Japan) CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Executive Summary 2. TUTORIAL 2.1 GMR-, TMR-junction and Spin Valve 2.2 DRAM, MRAM and HDD 3. MRAM R&D GROUPS 3.1 Toshiba 3.2 Matsushita 3.3 Fujitsu 3.4 Kyushu University 3.5 Tohoku University 3.5.1 Research Institute of Electrical Communication (RIEC) 3.5.2 Department of Applied Physics 3.6 Shimane University 4. CONTACTS

1.0 INTRODUCTION With the recent developments of even smaller portable telecommunication terminals and wearable computing devices, further miniaturization and integration of electronic devices is still of immediate interest. However, fabrication costs for such tiny devices are becoming an issue. In addition, there are other, more fundamental technical challenges. Many Japanese therefore believe that a paradigm shift in design is needed for the next generation electronic devices. Conventional electronic devices today work on the basis of electrical currents, i.e., they make use of the charge of the electron. Recently, researchers have started investigating devices whose functionality depends not only on electron charge, but also on electron spin. Since spins are responsible for magnetic phenomena, a new dimension could be introduced in the field of electronic devices giving rise to future magnetic devices. This new research field is called "spin electronics" and combines semiconductor technology and magnetics. A first device making use of electron spins and magnetic materials has been developed and has recently been successfully commercialized. It is the giant magneto resistance (GMR) hard disk read-out head. For example, according to the Nihon Kogyo Newspaper of 29 March 1999, Alps Electric will shift its entire MR head production to giant magneto resistance (GMR) heads from July 1999. Production is expected to rise to 15,000,000 pieces per month by the spring 2000. The successful commercialization of GMR read-out heads also means that the search for the next application of spin electronics has already started. (For a review on GMR technology in Japan see ATIP98.097: "Shift from MR to GMR Technology in Japan".) In Japan, promising candidates for application of spin electronics are thought to be magnetic random access memories (MRAM), semiconductor FET spin transistors, optical switches using fast spin relaxation in semiconductors, and micro magnetic sensors to name a few. MRAM is thought to be the most likely to be commercialized next. Manufacturing technology, however, is still lacking. In this report, application oriented studies on MRAM have been selected. The next section provides an executive summary of our findings, followed by a brief tutorial explaining the technical terms and concepts. Following that, the MRAM R&D of seven Japanese groups is presented. At present, we note a rather decreasing commitment on MRAM R&D in Japan which could however be revived by a national research project on the subject.

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