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Ever heard of MRAM? It's as fast as traditional RAM memory but retains its contents indefinitely without power. And Freescale says they're got it ready.

Chipmaker Freescale Semiconductor announced today that they've begun volume production on the first magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) devices to be available commercially. The first devices are 3.3 Volt, 4 Mbit parts with 35 nanosecond read and write cycles, and are built using standard SRAM pin-out arrangement so they can easily be used in place of existing components. As with all forms of memory, you can expect speeds and capacity to increase over time as overall costs decline.

What's the big deal about MRAM? Well, in a nutshell, it's fast like the conventional RAM memory used in computers, portable devices, and any number of digital gizmos today, but retains its contents indefinitely without power by relying on magnetic properties of its materials.

Saving data without power...that sounds like flash memory! Yes, it does: except flash memory is too slow to use in the place of conventional RAM, and flash memory deteriorates with use: write to it enough and it doesn't retain data accurately. MRAM brings the benefits of both memory types without the drawbacks of either, making it ideal for embedded applications such as networking, storage, security devices, games, phones, and printers. MRAM could conceivably replace flash and traditional memory in most digital devices.

"The commercial launch of the industry's first MRAM product is a major milestone made possible by the pioneering research of Freescale technologists. It underscores our commitment to deliver breakthrough technology to our customers to address real-world challenges," said Sumit Sadana, Freescale's CTO. "The unique capabilities of MRAM technology have numerous exciting applications in our target markets."

"With the commercialization of MRAM, Freescale is the first-to-market with a technology of tremendous possibilities and profound implications," said Bob Merritt, Semico Research. "Competition to become the first company to market MRAM technology was fierce. This is a significant achievement that certainly confirms the dedication of Freescale's engineering team."

Initial applications for MRAM are likely to be in industrial settings, but MRAM could eventually make its way into personal computers, where its ability to retain data through power-down may enable systems to boot almost instantaneously, create new classes of lightning-fast backup and storage devices. But while MRAM is a promising technologies, it won't be without competition: companies like Texas Instruments and Ramtron International are working on ferroelectric random access memory, or FRAM, which also retains data without power and may offer higher capacities at lower prices than MRAM.

Freescale spun off from Motorola in July 2004.