New memories tap spin, gird for battle
Memory chips based on electrons' magnetism, or spin, are moving into the market, promising instant start-up computers that can forego loading data from disks.
References:
Parkin, S.S.P. 1999. Coming of age of magnetic multilayers: Giant magnetoresistance field sensors and magnetic tunnel junction memory elements. Meeting of the American Physical Society. March. Atlanta.
Zhu, T. 1999. Development of non-volatile and radiation hard magnetic random access memory. Meeting of the American Physical Society. March. Atlanta.
Further Readings:
1993. Resistance at low magnetic fields. Science News 144(Sept. 18):191.
Lipkin, R. 1995. Storing vast amounts of data in tiny spots. Science News 147(April 22):245.
Sources:
Stuart S.P. Parkin
IBM Research Division
Almaden Research Center
San Jose, CA 95120
Theodore Zhu
Honeywell Solid State Electronics Center
12001 State Highway 55
Plymouth, MN 55441
From Science News, Vol. 155, No. 14, April 3, 1999, p. 223. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.
