NTU Singapore and GF to explore next-gen memory technology

The joint partnership between NTU Singapore, GlobalFoundries Singapore (GF Singapore), and the National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF) aims to drive the advancement of a new resistive random access memory, also known as ReRAM. The SGD 120 million (EUR 79.17 million) partnership, supported by the parties’ in-cash and in-kind contributions, will seek to demonstrate the new technology on 12” wafers. Among the key benefits of ReRAM as compared to conventional RAMs are faster read-write speeds with lower power consumption, crucial for ultra-low power applications in the Internet of Things (IoT). ReRAM also has the potential for a higher memory density, allowing more data to be stored in a smaller physical space, higher performance in reading and writing of data, better energy efficiency for sustainability, and lower production costs. NTU President Professor Subra Suresh said the interdisciplinary research areas of the new partnership between NTU and GF Singapore will leverage the university’s globally recognised strengths. “The partnership between NTU and GF Singapore aims to explore next-generation non-volatile memory devices, designed and made in Singapore. This work will contribute to innovation in microelectronics, a key pillar supporting Singapore’s economy,” said Prof Suresh, in a press release. “As part of the partnership, NTU will also train and produce a strong pipeline of talent, grooming future tech leaders skilled in future-ready advanced manufacturing to help drive Singapore’s Industry 4.0 transformation.” Mr KC Ang, Senior Vice President and General Manager of GlobalFoundries Singapore added, “Our collaboration with NTU Singapore is one of GF Singapore’s efforts in fostering public-private industry partnerships to enable engineering undergraduates to be ready and better placed for the future.” This new NTU-GF Singapore partnership builds on the existing collaboration between the two organisations in the area of spintronics – also known as spin electronics – the study of the intrinsic spin of the electron and its associated magnetic moment, which is particularly useful for future memory applications. Led by NTU Professor Lew Wen Siang from the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, the project with GF Singapore is an interdisciplinary initiative involving the School of Electrical and Electronics Engineering and the School of Materials Science and Engineering. This project will see 16 researchers working together on ReRAM technology, including in new areas such as circuit design for next-generation smart devices and chip packaging for advanced IoT applications. The various ReRAM prototypes will be developed and tested on the NTU Smart Campus.