Dubbed the “holy grail” of memory technology, ULTRARAM™ has received millions in funding and Silicon Valley acclaim … and the final commercial product doesn’t even exist yet. We explore how the patents behind ULTRARAM™’s technology have helped to spur its success.
Beneath the blue skies of another sweltering, sunny day in California’s Santa Clara, a pioneering computer memory technology from Lancaster received its first significant Silicon Valley accolade.
The patented technology, known as ULTRARAM™, was declared ‘Best of Show’ in the ‘Most Innovative Flash Memory Start-Up’ category of the 2023 Flash Memory Summit at the Santa Clara Convention Centre.
The two men behind its invention and commercialisation – Lancaster University physics professor Manus Hayne and deep-tech entrepreneur James Ashforth-Pook – have not wasted this moment, working tirelessly since to ensure ULTRARAM™ goes from strength to strength.
Spinning out something special
The first patent application relating to ULTRARAM™’s technology was filed by Adamson Jones in the UK in 2014, with related applications later filed in Europe and the US, the latter of which has since been granted.
A further patent application was then filed in the UK in 2019 to protect developments to the technology, with related applications filed and pending in China, and filed and granted in Europe, Japan, Korea and the US.
“The research behind ULTRARAM™ was truly groundbreaking and potentially disruptive to the memory and storage markets,” explains senior associate Cory Stobart, who supported Adamson Jones managing director Simon Cooper with the patent filings and prosecution.
“We knew that there were multiple aspects that needed protecting to enable both Manus and Lancaster University’s Technology Transfer Office to reap the full benefits of this research.”
Described as a “flash-like floating gate memory”, ULTRARAM™ provides a new, alternative form of memory technology for everything from smartphones to data centres.
“To understand why it’s so special, you need to first understand how memory works,” Cory says. “A laptop, for example, has two main types: Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) and flash memory.
“The first is the main memory that holds the data and instructions the laptop’s central processing unit (CPU) needs to run. The second stores any data required, even when the device is switched off or loses power, and can also transfer data to other devices.”
Both DRAM and flash have advantages, and downsides.
“DRAM is fast and cost-effective, but it needs power,” Cory says. “Flash memory is non-volatile, which means it doesn’t need power to store memory, but it’s much slower and more expensive, and limits the number of times data can be written and re-written.”
ULTRARAM™, however, is designed to combine the benefits of both DRAM and flash memory, with none of the downsides.
“Rather than silicon, ULTRARAM™ uses a family of compound semiconductors that can exploit a process called ‘quantum tunnelling’,” Cory explains. “This essentially means that electrons (which represent bits of data) can travel into and out of the memory using a lot less energy.”
As well as being a non-volatile form of memory, ULTRARAM™ can potentially allow a device’s memory to instantly access data that have been stored for up to 1,000 years, even if the device has been off for that entire period.
“The potential advantages to both consumers and businesses are huge,” Cory says. “For consumers, it means faster devices. For businesses such as data centres, which require a significant amount of energy for accessing and storing memory, ULTRARAM™ could simultaneously increase energy efficiency and reduce costs.”
A “holy grail” for modern computing
Using their academic backgrounds in physics, Simon and Cory were able to take a deep dive into Manus’s invention and ensure that the patents would both protect and highlight ULTRARAM™’s unique capabilities.
“For the first patent application, we didn’t have a physical product, or even a prototype,” Cory says. “When it came to commercialising ULTRARAM™ through Lancaster University’s Technology Transfer Office, the patents initially needed to be the selling point.”
Following recognition from the journal Advanced Electronic Materials in 2022, ULTRARAM™ began its commercialisation journey via Lancaster University spinout Quinas Technology, led by James Ashforth-Pook as CEO.
“Quinas Technology was the shop window, but the patent portfolio was still the product,” Cory says. “We continued to support Manus and James in identifying further jurisdictions in which to protect the technology, filing and prosecuting patents in countries such as the US, Japan, South Korea, and China.”
Over the next 12 months, the opportunities came thick and fast.
Industry accolades
Shortly before arriving at Santa Clara, ULTRARAM™ was accepted onto ICURe, the UK’s leading accelerator programme for university spinouts.
“It secured hundreds of thousands in Innovate UK funding, as well as extensive support and guidance for Innovate UK’s ICURe Explore and Exploit programmes,” Cory says.
In October 2023, ULTRARAM™’s commercial entity, Quinas Technology, was selected to join a cohort of 12 UK semiconductor businesses to forge partnerships in Taiwan as part of the UK’s Global Business Innovation Programme.
“Taiwan manufactures more than 60% of the world’s semiconductors, with a particular strength in silicon wafers,” Cory explains. “This was a great opportunity for Manus and James to develop connections there, which would significantly support the next stage of developing and manufacturing a physical product.”
The industry accolades kept on coming.
A year after its trip to Taiwan, Quinas Technologies was one of five start-ups to win the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) IC Taiwan Grand Challenge, securing a landing grant of $30,000.
More recently, Quinas Technology was one of only ten global winners to secure a World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) Global Award, winning the ICT Start-Up category. In doing so, it also became the joint first-ever UK WIPO winner, having been selected from a pool of more than 780 applicants across 95 countries.
Chips ahoy
Quinas Technology is now taking steps to ensure its suitability for mass production, having expanded beyond its patents to several physical prototype cells and small arrays.
“Establishing a rationale for mass production is not always straightforward to achieve with technology that uses compound semiconductors,” Cory explains. “This is because it is more complex – and therefore more expensive – to produce.”
Nevertheless, in June 2025, Quinas Technology and global semiconductor company IQE announced the successful completion of a project to develop a scalable production method for ULTRARAM™, with Quinas chief technology officer and project coordinator Dr Peter Hodgson commenting that the Innovate-UK-funded project “marks a major milestone in ULTRARAM™’s path to commercialisation, bringing this groundbreaking memory technology significantly closer to market readiness.”
“Compound semiconductors are a huge part of the government’s focus right now,” Cory says. “The National Semiconductor Strategy, which was published in 2023, highlights them as one of five ‘technologies of tomorrow’ and has promised to invest up to £1bn in their development and commercialisation over the next decade.
“Through Quinas Technology, ULTRARAM™ is perfectly placed to make the most of these pledges, and I’m really excited to see what the future has in store.
“Overall, its success demonstrates just how powerful a strong patent portfolio can be. Indeed, it can often open doors to investment and opportunity before a full commercial product has even been developed.”