UltraRAM scaled for volume production — memory that promises DRAM-like speeds, 4,000x the durability of NAND, and data retention for up to a thousand years, is now ready for manufacturing

Efforts to commercialize UltraRAM have made significant strides forward. Quinas Technology, the firm behind UltraRAM, has been busy working alongside advanced wafer products maker IQE plc for the last year to scale UltraRAM memory device creation into an industrial process. According to Blocks & Files, the collaboration has been a success, and the memory that promises DRAM-like speeds, 4,000x the durability of NAND, and data retention for up to a thousand years is now on the cusp of production.

The design now benefits from the development of a new, advanced gallium antimonide and aluminum antimonide epitaxy process, claimed to be a world first, which will enable UltraRAM volume production.

UltraRAM is reliant on an epitaxy process, where compound semiconductor layers are grown with great precision on a crystalline substrate. Later, more familiar semiconductor production processes, such as photolithography and etching, are then applied to create the memory chip structures.

“We have successfully achieved our goal of developing a scalable epitaxy process for UltraRAM, a milestone towards industrial production of packaged chips,” Jutta Meier, CEO of IQE, said in a statement reproduced by Blocks & Files. “This project represents a unique opportunity to bring the next generation of compound semiconductor materials to life in the UK.”

A complementary statement, from Quinas CEO and co-founder James Ashforth-Pook, characterized the collaborative success as “a turning point in the journey from university research to commercial memory products.”

Next up on the commercialization roadmap, Quinas and IQE are said to be weighing pilot production with various foundries and other collaborators.

If you could cherry-pick the best qualities of DRAM and NAND…

In case you haven’t been following the UltraRAM story, we first covered this new memory technology back in 2022. It boasted of many tantalizing ‘cake-and-eat-it’ attractions; DRAM-like speeds, <1 femtojoule switching, 4,000x the durability of NAND, and non-volatility for up to a thousand years. The patented tech would be the first memory to exploit a quantum-mechanical process called resonant tunneling.

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This was a fascinating technology to see in development. However, knowing the journey from blockbuster white paper to commercial production is a long, hard, and winding one, many thought it was yet another technology we wouldn’t hear of again.

In September 2023 we had the pleasure of visiting the UltraRAM labs, which had recently spun off from Lancaster University to be championed by Quinas Technology. There we were among the first members of the public to another milestone – a prototype UltraRAM memory chip in testing.

Now, things are getting really exciting with the headlining scaling of the UltraRAM fabrication process for volume production.

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