Table 2 Summary of primary contenders for MRAM, FeRAM, STT-RAM, and PCM technologies
Features | FeRAM | MRAM | STT-RAM | PCM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cell size (F2) | Large, approximately 40 to 20 | Large, approximately 25 | Small, approximately 6 to 20 | Small, approximately 8 |
Storage mechanism | Permanent polarization of a ferroelectric material (PZT or SBT) | Permanent magnetization of a ferromagnetic material in a MTJ | Spin-polarized current applies torque on the magnetic moment | Amorphous/polycrystal phases of chalcogenide alloy |
Read time (ns) | 20 to 80 | 3 to 20 | 2 to 20 | 20 to 50 |
Write/erase time (ns) | 50/50 | 3 to 20 | 2 to 20 | 20/30 |
Endurance | 1012 | >1015 | >1016 | 1012 |
Write power | Mid | Mid to high | Low | Low |
Nonvolatility | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Maturity | Limited production | Test chips | Test chips | Test chips |
Applications | Low density | Low density | High density | High density |