How quickly the manufacture of reliable MRAM products can be shaken down on the Altis manufacturing lines and whether it would focus on a 256-Mbit devices, as has been previously suggested, were not confirmed by Altis as it made its announcement Tuesday (May 27).

The development work is due to start at Altis in mid-2003, Altis said. The Altis' project is part of a long-standing global cooperation between IBM and Infineon on MRAM and is expected to play a leading role in bringing MRAM memory from the fundamental R&D stage to the industrial phase.

The intention to move MRAM technology to Altis has been announced before. Two years ago it was said that the transfer of MRAM technology from IBM and Infineon to Altis would lead commercial introduction of a 256- or 128-Mbit memory made using a 0.13-micron manufacturing process technology by about a year (see April 17 2001 story).

"Two elements were instrumental in bringing this new program here in Altis: The proximity of the world-class R&D campus of the University of Orsay and the recognition of our engineers expertise combined with our world-class operational results on copper leading-edge technologies" Didier Lamouche, chief executive officer of Altis Semiconductor, said in a statement.

"Altis Semiconductor is a major player in the leading-edge semiconductor arena, its ability to master the most advanced copper technologies is a key asset for the MRAM program," said Wilhelm Beinvogl, chief technology officer of Infineon's memory product division.

MRAM uses magnetism instead of electrical charge to store data and, unlike conventional RAM, MRAM cells can maintain their state when power is turned off.

MRAM is one of two or three candidates as a "universal memory" technology offering the combination of non-volatility and high-speed random access, and which once mature could displace many established forms of solid-state memory. However, it does require an extremely thin metallic layer that has proved a challenge to master in manufacture. An alternative technology is ferroelectric memory, which Texas Instruments has endorsed as its candidate 'universal memory'.

Although IBM was an early researcher of MRAM technology, Motorola is also driving forward with the technology and expects to sample products late in 2003 (see November 13 2002 story).

Altis Semiconductor was formed in July 1999 as a joint venture between IBM and Infineon.