This spin-RAM based FPGA circuit could safely process information in low-power, high-speed dissipation; meanwhile, all processed data is permanently stored in the distributed spin-RAM memory. In this non-volatile FPGA design, MTJs (magnetic tunnel junction) are used as storage elements. Contrary to conventional MRAM circuits, we do not use a complex sense amplifier, but a simple sense amplifier based on SRAM couples two MTJs per bit. The non-volatility of the spin-RAM allows the dynamic configuration of FPGA circuits and the starting time of the circuit can decrease to about one hundred peak seconds. As conventional MRAM, the spin-RAM MTJ will be on the surface of the semiconductor; therefore the die area of the circuit will not be enlarged by comparing with the conventional FPGA.
CMOS is currently the dominant technology for logic circuits, but is rapidly approaching its scale limits due to increasing problems with power dissipation at scaled technology nodes. The increase in power dissipation is due to increased static leakage (standby) power as well as increased density as the size of the device is reduced. The integration of fast and efficient non-volatile memory technology with CMOS can help alleviate this problem. The conventional approach has been to use SRAM for caches, DRAM for main memory and spinning disks, Flash memory for storage. Each of these technologies has limitations of scalability with respect to energy consumption, performance and speed or reliability. Hence an alternative approach to using a universal memory. It is to use a single universal memory that incorporates all the ideal properties of each layer that has high performance, high density, high strength, low power consumption and storage class novolatility. Rotating Transfer Pair RAM (STT-RAM) built using the Magnetic Tunnel Junction (MTJ) is a promising candidate for "universal memory".