Magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM)

Today, data is the lifeblood that disrupts many industries. The vast majority of this data is stored in the form of non-volatile magnetic bits in hard disk drives. This technology was developed more than half a century ago and has reached fundamental scaling limits that prevent further increases in storage capacity. New approaches are needed. Based on recent discoveries in spintronics, spin-based implementations such as Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM) or Racetrack Memory (RTM) are such approaches. Charge-to-spin conversion and vice versa is a key element in spin-based computing systems and is addressed in recent research. Spin-orbit coupling phenomena play a crucial role in both spin-orbit torque MRAM and RTM, where new materials with high spin Hall angles are needed. We explore the manufacturability of scaling to technologically relevant length scales and investigate fundamental obstacles and how they can be overcome. We fabricate single cells and arrays of nanoscale devices using an established set of materials and processes.

• For STT, SOT, Racetrack and TMR-Sensors
• Full 300mm AMAT deposition cluster
• Flexible multi cathode platform
• Tunability towards TMR, RA, linearity, field direction, anisotropy, …
• Integration concepts into BEOL

• Film and stack measurements via VSM, CIPT and MOKE
• Wafer level morphology, composition and other film properties
• Device and array characterization via Hprobe measurements
• Automotive qualification (-40 - +150 °C