NVE Announces Watershed
MRAM Patent
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.--February 28, 2002--NVE Corporation (OTCBB:
NVEC) announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
has issued a patent (number 6,349,053), solidifying the company's
magnetic random-access memory (MRAM) intellectual property position.
The patent, entitled "Spin Dependent Tunneling Memory,"
covers transistor-selected magnetic memory cells, a concept being
used by a number of organizations developing MRAM.
Unlike conventional DRAM and SRAM memories which use charge and
lose data when power is off, MRAM uses "spintronic" magnetic
materials that retain data when power is removed. This nonvolatility
provides a number of advantages. For example, today's computers
need to reload information into local memory from the hard disk
drive when data power is turned on. MRAM will allow programs and
data to remain in the local memory even when the power is off. Semico
Research Corporation predicts that MRAM has the potential to revolutionize
the $48 billion semiconductor memory market.
Because of the capital investment required to fabricate large-scale
memories, NVE has made a strategic decision to license its intellectual
property and partner with memory manufacturers. The company's current
licensees include Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), Honeywell International
(NYSE: HON), and USTC.
"We are proud to have earned this watershed patent,"
commented Dr. James Daughton, NVE's founder and chief technology
officer. "We believe this gives us one of the strongest MRAM
intellectual property portfolios in the entire industry."
NVE is a leader in the practical commercialization of "spintronics,"
which many experts believe represents the next generation of microelectronics.
Statements made in this release concerning the Company's or
management's intentions, expectations, or predictions about future
results or events are "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. Such statements
are necessarily subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to vary from stated expectations, and such variations
could be material and adverse. Additional information concerning
the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from the Company's current expectations is contained in the Company's
SEC filings.
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