MRAM memories are here: Samsung builds the first system with memories that retain information even if the device is turned off

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MRAM memories are here: Samsung builds the first system with memories that retain information even if the device is turned off
mram memories are here: samsung builds the first system with

Since the 1990s, MRAM or magnetoresistive memories have been the object of desire of many manufacturers. A new type of non-volatile memory, where information is retained even if the device is turned off or there is no power. After several years of research, Samsung today announced that it has already proven that these MRAM memories work and have proven their effectiveness in a real environment.

Samsung has built the first functional computing system based on MRAM memories. We are facing a new type of memory that opens the door to a whole new generation of chips, where memories can from storing data to processing it. Unlike in DRAM memories, where we have dynamic data management, in these MRAMs it is also possible to maintain data.

Faster, more efficient and ready to be mass produced

Mram plate

The results of this test have been published in Nature by the team from the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) together with the Samsung Electronics Foundry. From the company they explain that these new memories can process a large amount of data stored within the memory itself, without having to access the data from an SSD. Due to the fact that the processing of this data runs in a very parallel way, the energy consumption is considerably reduced..

The challenge of using MRAM is in its execution. They have low resistance and cannot benefit from standard computing. Samsung points out that its use would fit well in the development of new artificial intelligence chips or for the development of neural networks.

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To test them, Samsung engineers implemented these MRAMs in a computer system focused on artificial intelligence tasks, where the same memories stored the starting data and performed the calculation task. Test results indicate that these MRAM memories have achieved 98% accuracy in classifying handwritten digits and 93% accuracy in detecting faces in scenes.

Mram

The production of these DRAM memories has been ready for a few years, since the technical difficulty is in their implementation and not the production of chips. The process proposed two years ago was to mass manufacture MRAM memories in 28 nanometers. According to data from Samsung, these MRAM memories can be up to 1,000 times faster than eFlash.

“Computing in memory is like the brain in the sense that In the brain, computing also occurs within the network of biological memories, or synapses“explains Dr. Seungchul Jung, author of the research. Neuromorphic computing is a new field of computing that, in addition to Samsung, companies such as Intel, IBM or HP are also exploring.