MRAM relates to automotive applications. For crash recorders, MRAM can collect and store more data when an accident occurs, and help determine the cause of a vehicle accident or breakdown.
Automotive applications that use sensors can benefit from MRAM. Because the sensor writes data continuously, it is difficult for flash memory to maintain this data flow. The new airbag system also has sensors to detect and record the weight of passengers, the interaction with other safety devices on the vehicle, and the impact of collisions.
Other automotive systems, such as odometers, tire pressure recorders and ABS, require frequent write operations to the memory, and these write operations can easily exceed the write and erase functions of flash memory and will exhaust its memory. MRAM has unlimited write cycle capabilities, which can ensure a more reliable system for mission-critical equipment such as airbags and ABS.
The use of MRAM in the military has also been widely recognized. Many systems use battery-powered SRAM, and there are inherent reliability issues with battery usage. Honeywell has obtained military and aerospace licenses for Freescale’s MRAM technology.
Further improvements in MRAM technology can fundamentally change the architecture of embedded systems. MRAM has the potential to replace RAM and flash memory used for data storage and program memory in embedded MCUs, respectively. MRAM is expected to replace both and allows the use of single memory architecture. MCU has chip-specific ROM codes that can be replaced by MRAM to provide fast field programmable upgrades.
In larger systems, the microprocessor uses RAM memory to implement fast read/write functions. DRAM is used as a temporary storage area for application blocks. Hard disk drives store non-volatile information of application software and data, but read and write speeds are very slow. Once MRAM replaces all these storage devices, it becomes possible to start the PC instantly.
There is currently no general-purpose memory. All memories have trade-offs in write cycle endurance, read/write speed and data retention and array density, power consumption and price. Available memory on the market has inherent limitations that prevent them from providing optimal memory capabilities. With further improvement, MRAM may one day be hailed as general-purpose memory.