SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES today announced the sale of a TIMARIS thin-film deposition system for MRAM wafer production to GRANDIS in Silicon Valley/USA. The two companies also signed a collaborative agreement on advanced TMR film development for MRAM (magnetic random access memory).
MRAM is a non-volatile memory technology that also provides high-speed read and write operation as well as unlimited rewriting capability. It is considered a leading candidate for a future "universal memory".
Dr. Yiming Huai, CTO and VP Engineering of GRANDIS remarked that "the newly-developed SINGULUS TIMARIS system allows us to accelerate the development of our STT-RAM technology". STT-RAM is a type of MRAM that employs spin transfer torque writing technology to overcome the high write currents and scaling limitations of conventional MRAM. As a result, STT-RAM is extendable to the 65 nm node and below.
Roland Lacher, CEO of SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES, commented: "The collaboration with GRANDIS is important to our company and is aimed at developing new TMR thin-film processes on the TIMARIS platform. TMR technology will be a key element in the production of next-generation MRAM. GRANDIS is a world leader in this area and works with companies such as RENESAS in Japan".
SINGULUS delivered its first TIMARIS system for MRAM applications in 2005. The company achieved a breakthrough when the first order was placed for a production TIMARIS system for TMR (tunneling magneto resistive) thin-film heads in the magnetic hard disc drive industry.
This agreement with Grandis marks another important milestone for the TMR thin-film business within SINGULUS and the market acceptance of the TIMARIS system.
SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG Company Profile
With a consistent focus on its core competencies, since the management buyout SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES has transformed itself into the global leader of systems and equipment for optical storage media within a time span of ten years. Operating and acting according to the principles of profitability always remained in the spotlight. SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES is the only equipment producer in the world offering the entire value-added chain for the manufacturing of optical disc: the products range from mastering and injection molding to replication lines. With the set-up of a high degree of the depth of the value-added chain, SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES was successful in broadening the range of products offered to customers in the past couple of years. Therefore, the positioning of SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES in the optical disc segment is one of kind in the world.
SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES’ declared goal is to integrate the new formats HD DVD and Blu-ray into this structure as well. With the acquisition of STEAG HamaTech in January 2006, SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES is also excellently positioned worldwide in the future for machines for recordable formats.
SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES still considers the market for machines to produce optical disc as its core competence. In addition, new business areas are intended to contribute to sales and earnings in the future.
GRANDIS, Inc. Company ProfileGrandis, a world leader in the development of Spin Transfer Torque based RAM technology (STT-RAMTM), was established in 2002 and is headquartered in Silicon Valley, California. The company currently holds 19 patents in the field and has 35 patents pending. Grandis has assembled a strong international technical team with extensive expertise in magnetic thin film and device technology. Investors include Applied Materials Ventures, Sevin Rosen Funds, Matrix Partners and Incubic. www.grandisinc.comGRANDIS, Inc., 1123 Cadillac Ct, Milpitas, CA 94035Contact:William Almon, Grandis, Inc., Email: bill.almon@grandisinc.com, Tel: +1-408-945-2160 Jennifer Michalski, Sevin Rosen Funds, Email:jwm@srfunds.com, Tel: +1-650-326-0550