# Non-volatile memory faster and cooler than DRAM — retained record

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source: [news](https://highsignal.app/data/news) (news:blocksandfiles)  published 2026-05-27 14:21 ingested 2026-05-28 09:52

[Persistent Systems](https://highsignal.app/entities/PERSISTENT)[original source ↗](https://www.blocksandfiles.com/scm/2026/05/27/non-volatile-memory-faster-and-cooler-than-dram/5247139)

## extract

Non-volatile memory faster and cooler than DRAM
Japanese researchers have shown the Mn₃Sn (Manganese Tin) can switch its persistent magnetic state in 40 picoseconds, five times faster than DDR5 DRAM’s 208.3ps, using less energy and generating less heat than DRAM switching.
The 12 researchers were led by Project Professor Tsai Hanshen of the University of Tokyo, and they were looking into the antiferromagnetic properties of Mn₃Sn, where adjacent electron spins align in opposite directions and so cancel each other out. The material’s overall spin direction can be manipulated between two states which can be used to indicate binary values. Specifically they looked at spin-orbit torque (SOT) based on heat-independent angular momentum transfer.
The research team built a device using layers of Mn₃Sn and Tantalum, a heavy, non-magnetic, metal, on a silicon base. Short, picosecond-level electrical pulses were found to switch the material between two stable magnetic states. This is far more energy-efficient than DRAM, which needs electricity to overcome electrical resistance, and build and maintain charge in capacitors, because they leak. This necessary flow of electricity generates more heat than the Japanese researcher’s process, relatively speaking, as it uses short pulses of electricity.
The Tsai-led team also showed that switching is possible with 60 picosecond photocurrent pulses generated by a combination of a telecommunication wavelength band laser and a photoelectric converter. In other words, an optical signal was converted to an electrical one, which was then used to switch the device’s magnetic state.
If their research progresses to the commercially viable production of a non-volatile, DRAM-speed memory chip then it could replace DRAM and NAND.
Scaling to commercially available chips will need further engineering and industry collaboration, and the team is aiming for a practical prototype chip by 2030.
The research results were published in the online edition of the international scientific journal Science on May 15, 2026, behind a paywall.
Bootnote
DDR5-4800 DRAM’s speed is measured in MT/s (million transfers per second) and starts at 4,800 MT/s. We can get a rough approximation of its switching speed by dividing that into 1 second, which gives us 0.0000000002083 seconds; 0.2083 nanoseconds (ns) or 208.3 picoseconds (ps).

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