News: Microelectronics
19 July 2024
Innovate UK awards £1.1m one-year project to industrialize ULTRARAM, led by Quinas with IQE and Lancaster and Cardiff universities
Innovate UK (which provides funding and support for business innovation as part of UK Research and Innovation) has granted £1.1m to epiwafer and substrate maker IQE plc of Cardiff, Wales, UK, the Universities of Cardiff and Lancaster, and project coordinator Quinas Technology Ltd (which was spun off from Lancaster University in early 2023).
The one-year project is the first step towards volume production of the patented universal computer memory ULTRARAM, which was invented by Lancaster physics professor Manus Hayne.
By exploiting quantum resonant tunnelling, ULTRARAM’s properties combine the non-volatility of a data storage memory (like flash) with the speed, energy efficiency and endurance of a working memory (like DRAM).
“A memory combining non-volatility with fast, energy-efficient write and erase capabilities [resulting in high endurance] has previously been considered unattainable,” says project leader Dr Peter Hodgson, co-founder & chief technical officer at Quinas. “ULTRARAM’s ability to switch between a highly resistive state and a highly conductive state is the key to its unique properties”
ULTRARAM has a reported switching energy per unit area that is 100 times lower than DRAM, 1000 times lower than flash, and over 10,000 times lower than other emerging memories. Its ultra-low energy credentials are further enhanced by its non-destructive read and non-volatility, which removes the need for refresh.
“Future compute will place ever-increasing demands on memory capability, driven by emerging applications like novel AI and quantum compute, as well as evolution in more traditional markets like defence and aerospace,” notes Quinas’ CEO & co-founder James Ashforth-Pook. “ULTRARAM’s unique combination of non-volatile storage and rapid access memory addresses many of those needs, offering the potential for huge energy savings and carbon emission reduction.”
Most of the funding for the project will be spent at IQE, which will scale up the manufacture of compound semiconductor layers from Lancaster University to an industrial process. “Their support is testament to our technology’s commercial potential,” says Hodgson. This will involve IQE developing advanced capability for the growth of gallium antimonide and aluminium antimonide for the first time. The project follows significant investment to boost the UK semiconductor industry and the establishment of the world’s first compound semiconductor cluster in South Wales.
“We are delighted that Innovate UK is supporting this ambitious project, and that IQE has committed to developing the first part of ULTRARAM mass production,” says Lancaster team lead Hayne, who is also co-founder & chief scientific officer at Quinas.
It is estimated that the global memory chip market will be worth about $320bn by 2030 but the UK currently has no stake in it. “ULTRARAM represents a tremendous economic opportunity for the UK,” says Hayne.
“I am delighted to support our spinout Quinas on its journey to scale this Lancaster-led innovation to an industrial process suitable for a semiconductor foundry fab, thereby generating impact from research through commercialisation,” comments Jessica Wenmouth, Lancaster University’s head of research commercialisation. “This project not only aligns with Lancaster University’s strategy to foster impactful research and innovation but also demonstrates the effective utilization of strategic grant funding alongside private equity investment. Such collaborations are crucial for bringing new products to market and driving significant investment into the UK for emerging technologies, enhancing our national and global standing in cutting-edge fields,” she believes.
The goal of the project to industrialize the process involves scaling up ULTRARAM wafer diameters from 3” at Lancaster to 6” at IQE by using the mainstream production technique metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) rather than molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), which is typically used at universities.
“Lancaster will do some initial MBE epitaxy as a control/template for the industrial growth activities of IQE and Cardiff. Our key role will be to characterize the antimonide material grown at IQE and, once sufficient quality is confirmed, we will fabricate and test ULTRARAM memory on small areas of the wafers from IQE,” Hayne says. “In parallel with this, Lancaster will continue to work on ULTRARAM scaling, by reducing the size of individual devices (Moore’s law) and making larger and larger arrays. Once devices are small enough and arrays are large enough, the following stage will be to demonstrate fabrication on a complete 8” wafer, and then to translate the process to an industrial one, suitable for a semiconductor foundry fab.”
ULTRARAM memory demonstrated on silicon wafers for first time
