Micromem Technologies Inc, a small start-up company working with the University of Utah, claims to have made two major breakthroughs in memory technology – developing a chip that retains data even after the power is switched off, yet has faster access rates than DRAM designs. The chip’s inventor, Richard M Lienau, unveiled an 8-bit design based on the technology – which has been dubbed MAGRAM ferromagnetic memory – this week. The samples were made using simple glass substrates, a process that halves the number of steps in the manufacturing process, drastically reducing costs according to Micromem director, Stephen Fleming.

The prototype design uses ferromagnetic rods and Hall Effect sensors on a glass substrate. The current polarity of the rods is flipped to change their state to either one or zero. Unlike capacitor-based DRAM designs, which lose current after the power supply is switched off, the rods hold their state even if the power is switched off for months or even years. In addition, the data access rate is about 5 nanoseconds – according to Fleming – the initial data access time for Intel Corp’s newest Flash memory chip is about 120 nanoseconds.

The company says that it initially made 8-bit prototypes because the University of Utah’s labs are set up to handle that level of sophistication. Fleming says that it should be a simple matter to move up to a 16- or 32-bit design. The company is trying to develop its technology as much as possible, Fleming said, in order to gather patents and protect its intellectual property as much as possible. However, he did say that the company was talking to several major vendors about the technology.

If the technology takes off, it could replace technologies like Flash memory and static RAM in mobile phones, PDAs and other battery-powered devices, as it should be faster and cheaper than both. However, Fleming has even higher hopes for the technology, claiming that the use of simple substrates could very easily change the way that chips are manufactured. He also hinted at possible uses for technology somewhat further afield than earthbound handhelds. The chips, he says, are inherently radiation-proof and so could be used to construct a solid-state data recorder for NASA. á