Magnetic random access memory: Commercialization trend from the perspective of patents

Abstract

As one of the most promising new nonvolatile memory technologies in the future, magnetic random access memory (MRAM) can address a wide range of potential memory applications, potentially worth thousands of billions of dollars with the substantial advantages of nonvolatility, radiation hardness, unlimited endurance, high speed, high density and low power consumption, attracting worldwide investments, especially from the United States, Europe, Japan and South Korea. From the perspective of patents, the commercialization trend and competitiveness of MRAM emerging industry are explored based on the analysis of global patent application data in this technology field. The first commercially available MRAM device with a storage capacity of 4 Mbit was actually realized in 2006. Current 16 Mbit MRAM devices based on magnetic field-driven switching have been applied on a small scale in niche areas ranging from aerospace to industrial and automotive systems. The further commercial development of MRAM with a storage capacity of 1 Gbit has now become the research goal. The scalability embodied in switching using the spin torque transfer (STT) effect has transformed the prospects for MRAM commercialization. Novel designs based on STT current switching can be expected to open a new route for fabricating scalable MRAM devices with high density, high performance, but low power consumption. Although STT-MRAM is only just beginning to be commercialized, the rapid increase of patent applications in this domain signals the desire for commercialization. Most recently, novel MRAM devices based on the spin orbit coupling (SOC) effects such as spin Hall effect, Rashba effect, Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI), etc. are emerging, and a highly dynamic and competitive market in the near future will be expected.