For an era of high-tech change

For an era of high-tech change

With outbreaks of infection around the world, new attempts are being made in every industry. The evolution of semiconductors is of paramount importance in order to change with high technology. Attempts have also been made to radically change this semiconductor.

[From Tohoku University] Japan's basic technology for "Kishikaisei" that can replace semiconductors in the world Power Spin

Using the electronic technology "spintronics" from Tohoku University, we are developing a new AI processor and memory using new spintronics that can have 100 times more computing performance than before with the same power consumption. With the advent of 5G and AI and the enormous amount of data handled by people, it is attracting attention from all over the world as an innovative technology that can change the foundation of all electronic devices and improve performance by orders of magnitude.

New technology that improves the performance of personal computers and smartphones by orders of magnitude
"Spintronics," which President Hideo Ohno of Tohoku University has continued to lead the world in research, is a technology that uses the direction of magnetism generated by the rotation of electrons to perform memory and calculations. Professor Tetsuro Endo of the Graduate School of Engineering, a leading semiconductor researcher who serves as the CTO of PowerSpin, uses this technology from the memory of semiconductor integrated circuits to processors as a basic technology that improves the performance of various electronic devices by orders of magnitude. We are proceeding with social implementation.

For example, in today's computers, when the power is turned off, the data in the CPU and memory disappears, so it is necessary to always energize the computer, and a large amount of standby power is generated even when it is not operating. In "non-volatile memory and non-volatile processors" that use spintronics, data remains even when the power is turned off, so the computer is turned on only when necessary for operation, and unnecessary standby power can be saved significantly.

If the power consumption is suppressed, the performance of the computing power can be improved accordingly. Professor Endo said, "For example, smartphones that need to be charged once a day will have 100 times longer battery life by using non-volatile memory and non-volatile processors, and will only need to be charged once every three months. If the frequency of this charging is only once a week, the performance can be increased 10 times by that amount. In this way, it is an innovative that can solve the dilemma between power consumption and computeability so far. The technology is spintronics. "

Installed in all IoT devices in the age of large amounts of data
Professor Endo has been studying spintronics under Professor Ohno for about 15 years and has been studying its use in semiconductor integrated circuits. He became the director of the Center for Innovative Integrated Electronics Research (CIES) at Tohoku University, which was established in 2013, and has been conducting joint research in collaboration with private companies. "We have established a network with private companies, and this technology has become visible not only in basic research but also in the market," said Toru Masaoka, who was the program manager in the research of Professor Endo's national project in 2018. "Power Spin" was established.

In its business, it develops and designs memory using spintronics technology, prototypes IoT devices and AI processors, and develops licensing and consulting. Development of processors to be installed in JAXA's Hayabusa 3 and business development as semiconductor integrated circuits that support all IoT systems such as automatic car operation systems, AI and robots are progressing.

"Become a rebirth of the semiconductor field from Japan and Tohoku"
If all digital devices in the world replace existing silicon semiconductor integrated circuits with spintronics / CMOS hybrid semiconductor integrated circuits using spintronics, by licensing the intellectual property and IP of these technologies to many companies, the next step It will be the basic technology that "controls the world" in the electronics era. Professor Endo said, "It is the core technology in the core of electronics, and the technology platform changes once every 30 to 40 years. The game change phase has come, and this team that has played a part in it for a long time is the best. I want to harvest good fruits, and Japanese electronics should still be in good shape. "

Mr. Masaoka said, "I have been in the world of semiconductors for a long time, and while Japanese semiconductors are not working well, I have been working on research with Professor Endo. Hopefully, it will be a rebirth of the semiconductor field from Japan and Tohoku University. I would like to strongly support a certain dream from a management standpoint and realize it. "

Mr. Endo envisioned a future in which this technology permeated the world, and said, "I want to show that university-industry-academia collaboration can do such a big thing. I wish I could contribute to the support of students for startups and the sophistication of university-industry-academia collaboration, and create an ecosystem for entrepreneurship on campus. "