SoftBank subsidiary working with Intel to develop radical new ZAM memory is now receiving Japanese gov't subsidies
Samsung and SK hynix warn AI-driven memory shortages could last until 2027 and beyond, as HBM demand explodes
Conventional magnetic memories typically use ferromagnets — materials such as iron, cobalt, or nickel in which magnetic moments align in the same direction. The new device instead uses an antiferromagnetic material called Mn₃Sn, where neighboring magnetic moments largely cancel one another out.
Researchers are interested in antiferromagnets because they can potentially switch much faster, resist magnetic interference more effectively, and scale to smaller dimensions without generating large stray magnetic fields.
The researchers fabricated layered Mn₃Sn/Ta structures on silicon substrates and then used ultrafast electrical pulses to flip the material between two stable magnetic configurations, representing binary states.
Crucially, the switching mechanism is not primarily based on heating the material. Instead, the pulses generate what is known as spin-orbit torque — a process that transfers angular momentum directly into the magnetic structure itself, flipping the magnetic state without requiring extreme temperature spikes.
That distinction is the paper's central claim. The research is not merely about creating a new kind of memory, but about finding a potentially more energy-efficient way to switch digital states themselves. Currently, almost all electrical energy consumed by computing hardware eventually becomes heat. Modern AI infrastructure is already hitting serious power and cooling limits as GPU clusters scale to hundreds of thousands of accelerators.
The team's device reportedly achieved switching in just 40 picoseconds — roughly 1,000 times faster than typical nanosecond-scale memory switching. Normally, pushing switching speeds into the picosecond regime causes heat generation to spike dramatically, as systems often rely partly on intense transient heating to destabilize states quickly enough for reversal.
However, simulations in one device configuration showed temperature rises of only about 8 K (14.4°F) during switching, supporting the researchers' claim that the mechanism relies primarily on direct angular-momentum transfer rather than brute-force thermal switching. This also confirms that the Mn₃Sn device may avoid much of the heat problem that has plagued earlier ultrafast memory research.
The optical switching demonstration may also prove important for future data-center architectures. The researchers generated 60-picosecond photocurrent pulses using a telecom-band laser and photodiode, then used those pulses to switch the device's magnetic state.
That could eventually align with broader industry efforts toward optical interconnects and silicon photonics, where hyperscalers are increasingly seeking ways to move information using light rather than conventional electrical signaling.
If technologies like this ever become commercially viable, they could theoretically reduce memory refresh overhead, lower cooling requirements, reduce idle power draw, and potentially blur the distinction between memory and storage. For personal computing, that could someday translate into systems that retain working memory contents without standby power, resume instantly, and generate less heat. For hyperscale AI infrastructure, the implications would center more around power efficiency and cooling reduction across massive GPU clusters.
For now, however, the technology remains firmly experimental. The current devices are tiny laboratory structures rather than manufacturable memory chips, and the paper notes that the present implementation still requires an external bias magnetic field for deterministic switching — a major practical limitation for commercial hardware.
Manufacturing scalability, endurance validation, cost competitiveness, and integration with existing CMOS manufacturing processes also remain unresolved. The history of computing is full of promising "next-generation memory" technologies that never displaced mature DRAM or NAND ecosystems. Even so, the work highlights the growing reality in the computing industry that future performance gains may depend less on shrinking transistors and more on reducing the energy required to physically switch, move, and store information.
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Etiido Uko is a news contributor for Tom's Hardware covering the latest updates in big tech and the PC industry. He is a mechanical engineer and senior technical writer with over nine years of experience in documentation and reporting. He is deeply passionate about all things engineering and technology, and is an expert in gadgets, manufacturing, robotics, automotive, and aerospace. ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-23/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Etiido Uko Social Links Navigation News Contributor Etiido Uko is a news contributor for Tom's Hardware covering the latest updates in big tech and the PC industry. He is a mechanical engineer and senior technical writer with over nine years of experience in documentation and reporting. He is deeply passionate about all things engineering and technology, and is an expert in gadgets, manufacturing, robotics, automotive, and aerospace.
usertests Finally, universal memory. Well, not anytime soon, but if "the speed of SRAM, the density of DRAM, the persistence of flash, and low power consumption" are theoretically possible in one device, we'll get it eventually. Density wasn't discussed here. Reply
S58_is_the_goat When the first word starts with "Researchers" I roll my eyes and say maybe in 10 years we'll get this. Reply
Zaranthos S58_is_the_goat said: When the first word starts with "Researchers" I roll my eyes and say maybe in 10 years we'll get this. That's true with most new technology, but right now the absurd amount of money being brute forced towards AI will exert itself on a lot of tangential technologies that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. I really believe a lot of the current high prices and supply problems plaguing the computer industry are just short term pain that will ultimately yield long term gain. Manufacturing and production are being ramped up in the the attempt to cope with demand at the same time that otherwise less mature or affordable technology is also being produced in larger quantities. As the tech we couldn't normally afford is displaced by better tech eventually some of that will fall back on more consumer based supply. I'm generally pretty optimistic about the future as long as Skynet doesn't deem me a problem. 😀 Reply
hotaru251 so i'll file this in soemthing we will never hear about again and nothing will come of it like the hundreds of other technology breakthroguhs that make claims over past decade. Reply
Chronos_Deep Zaranthos said: Manufacturing and production are being ramped up in the the attempt to cope with demand It’s quite the opposite, they are ramping down year by year to increase the price. Also there’s collusion between those 3 big manufacturers so nobody is increasing production to sells more. Reply
usertests hotaru251 said: so i'll file this in soemthing we will never hear about again and nothing will come of it like the hundreds of other technology breakthroguhs that make claims over past decade. The industry wants superior alternatives to DRAM and NAND. The specific breakthroughs don't matter, only the goal of universal memory. But you don't even need it to be universal for it to be better, like if there was something with the antiferromagnetic power savings described, and a short data retention, maybe it could overtake just DRAM. 15 years ago, few people had an SSD. Reply
USAFRet hotaru251 said: so i'll file this in soemthing we will never hear about again and nothing will come of it like the hundreds of other technology breakthroguhs that make claims over past decade. Like when solid state drives were only a research project. Reply
hotaru251 USAFRet said: Like when solid state drives were only a research project. but they came.(eventually) too many "breakthrough technology" have happened since yet never are heard about again. Hence my cynical outlook of it now until we actually start seeing stuff actual materialize Reply
DS426 Chronos_Deep said: It’s quite the opposite, they are ramping down year by year to increase the price. Also there’s collusion between those 3 big manufacturers so nobody is increasing production to sells more. Production has been increasing for all three memory majors almost every year in the past 15 years besides 2023 where they corrected for the slowdown in purchasing post-COVID. Looks like SK Hynix in particular had a pretty big jump going into 2026, and they are continue to ramp to fuel the crazy AI demand. The problem is that even with the growth, it's not enough to account for the stupid levels of demand. Reply
USAFRet hotaru251 said: but they came.(eventually) That was exactly my point hotaru251 said: too many "breakthrough technology" have happened since yet never are heard about again. Hence my cynical outlook of it now until we actually start seeing stuff actual materialize Of course not everything comes to fruition. But you can't just assume ALL research is doomed to simply disappear. Some of it does come true. Reply
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