The Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute (TSRI) yesterday unveiled a new memory device it developed with university researchers, saying that they are the world’s second team after Intel to make the breakthrough.
Magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) is widely regarded as having the potential to become a mainstream device, TSRI Fabrication Service Division director Li Kai-shin (李愷信) told a news conference in Taipei.
To develop the device, global manufacturers have been working on various techniques, including spin-transfer-torque MRAM (STT-MRAM) and spin-orbit-torque MRAM (SOT-MRAM), although SOT-MRAM is still mostly in the research phase, he said.
Photo courtesy of the National Applied Research Laboratories
The institute has worked with local researchers to develop a SOT-MRAM device that can read data faster, while consuming less energy and undergoing any number of operations, than an STT-MRAM device, he said.
Their key breakthrough came by using a challenging technique called perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) to turn the magnetic poles vertically within the device, enabling them to develop a memory device that is smaller, he said.
After Intel, they are only the world’s second team to have achieved the breakthrough, Li said, adding that they published their findings in a paper for the Symposium on VLSI Technology and Circuits in June.
The manufacturing process involves the structuring of more than 30 layers of film, each of which only measures 0.4 nanometers, he said.
While Intel did not reveal the structural features of its device, the team clarified the physical mechanism involved in making the device, he added.
Other team members include National Tsing Hua University materials science and engineering professor Lai Chih-huang (賴志煌), National Taiwan University electrical engineering professor Liu Chee-wee (劉致為) and researchers at the Industrial Technology Research Institute (工業技術研究院).
The institute’s key equipment for developing MRAM include a physical vapor deposition system purchased from US firm Applied Materials and an etching system purchased from Japan, Li said.
Compared with semiconductor firms, the institute’s facilities might not contain the most state-of-the-art equipment, but students have learned through trial and error, and are prepared to work in the chip industry, Liu said.
The team’s breakthrough is significant, but it is difficult to say when the SOT-MRAM device might enter mass production, TSRI Deputy Director-General Shieh Jia-min (謝嘉民) said.
Asked whether the technique would be transferred to domestic manufacturers, Shieh said that it takes time for technology transfers, although the team hopes to engage with more local equipment and materials suppliers.
Based at the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) with facilities in Tainan, TSRI is one of the eight laboratories under the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL).
British Representative to Taiwan John Dennis met with NARL President Wu Kuang-chong (吳光鐘) to discuss semiconductor research and development in Taiwan, expressing the hope that the UK and Taiwan could expand their cooperation in tech-related industries, the British Office Taipei wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
One of two tropical depressions that formed offshore this morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. It is expected to move in a northwesterly direction as it continues building momentum, possibly intensifying into Typhoon Mitag this weekend, she added. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is expected to approach southeast of Taiwan on Monday and pass through the Bashi Channel between Tuesday and Wednesday,
About nine Taiwanese are “disappeared,” detained, or otherwise deprived of freedom of movement in China each month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Between Jan. 1 last year and Aug. 31 this year, 188 Taiwanese travelers went missing, were detained and interrogated, or had their personal freedom restricted, with some questioned in airports or hotel lobbies, the council said. In a statement ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the council urged people visiting China for any reason to be highly vigilant and aware of the risks. Of the reported cases, 50 people were “disappeared” after entering China, 19 were detained and 119 had