The NanoIC pilot line is designed to accelerate innovation in advanced semiconductor technologies. Magnetic memory (MRAM) is a critical piece of that puzzle, enabling scalable architectures for future computing.
Spin-orbit torque (SOT) enables ultra-fast, energy-efficient magnetization switching, making it a key mechanism for introducing magnetic memories into cache applications.
Yet, today’s SOT-MRAM devices face a major hurdle to widespread commercialization: low write efficiencies make SOT-MRAM uncompetitive to conventional cache memories at advanced nodes. This is owed to a moderate charge-to-spin conversion coefficient (xSOT) in traditional SOT-MRAM material systems.
Through the NanoIC project, CEA-Spintec (France), CEA-Leti (France), and imec (Belgium) have joined forces to address this bottleneck. Our consortium brings together world-class expertise in advanced materials and characterization with large-scale processing capabilities.
Spintec and Leti are exploring new material systems that leverage recent breakthroughs in orbital current physics – phenomena observed in abundant, highly conductive materials that hold great promise for boosting SOT-MRAM performances.
Promising candidates have been identified, and the next step is validating their potential on imec’s state-of-the-art 300mm SOT-MRAM prototyping platform within the NanoIC pilot line.
The goal: demonstrate that orbital phenomena can unlock a new level of efficiency for SOT-MRAM technology and open up their applicability in a wide variety of IT and AI application domains.
By embedding this work into the NanoIC pilot line, we ensure these breakthroughs can transition from lab-scale innovation to industry-ready solutions.
The NanoIC pilot line is a pan-European effort hosted by imec, in collaboration with CEA-Leti, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, VTT, Tyndall National Institute, and CSSNT-UPB. Together, we are building Europe’s most advanced semiconductor R&D and prototyping infrastructure for beyond-2nm technologies.
More partner updates will follow regularly.
