The computer chip that never forgets

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, have been working on a form of magnetic memory called magnetoelectric random access memory (MeRAM). With MeRAM technology, it's possible to create logic that is its own form of memory, a switch that can both perform computations and remember. This switch would retain its state even when it's powered down. It could also provide a massive boost to some of the most memory-intensive computing tasks, such as video and multimedia signal processing, pattern recognition, virtual reality, and machine learning. Both spin transfer torque MRAM (STT-MRAM) and magnetoelectric RAM (MeRAM) can use the same basic architecture to store data in the orientation of electron spin. Each bit in an array can be accessed at the intersection of two lines of electrodes, a source line and a bit lin. A MeRAM transistor is much smaller than an STT-MRAM transistor, since it does not have to provide as large a current. As a result MeRAM cells are smaller overall, and arrays of them can be made more dense.