Listed semiconductor company Weebit Nano (ASX: WBT) has launched a three-stage program to accelerate its entry into the discrete, stand-alone, memory chip market with its silicon oxide ReRAM technology.
Discrete memory chips contain larger memory arrays and are more technically challenging than embedded modules, requiring additional development work before reaching productisation.
A key element required for discrete memory chips is a “selector”, which helps isolate the memory cells so that only the specific cells which should be modified actually are, and all the other cells are disconnected and not impacted.
Weebit will carry out the development work for the discrete memory chips in co-operation with Leti, its French research partner. Leti has been developing a selector for the discrete memory market for the past several years, enabling Weebit to significantly advance its development work for the discrete memory market.
The first stage of the program will be three-months long and used to define the specific details of the selector as well as the commercial details. Once these details are defined, the other two stages, totaling another 12 months, will lead to a demonstration of Weebit’s ReRAM cell working with the selector.
The program follows the recent third-party validation of Weebit’s memory technology by XTX Technology, achieved four months ahead of schedule. It broadens the work program for Weebit beyond just the “embedded” non-volatile memory (NVM) market, which includes applications such as AI, IoT and Analog, for which Weebit is on track for first orders in late 2020.
Commenting on the extended agreement, Coby Hanoch, CEO of Weebit, said:
Our recent work with XTX Technology and other potential partners accelerated our entry into the discrete memory market, and we are now scaling up our efforts in this segment in parallel to the continued work in the embedded space.
We are very pleased to further extend our long-standing collaboration with Leti to cover this domain, leveraging their investment and saving us years of development.
Leti has a very impressive team and a state-of-the-art fabrication facility, and our joint team has worked harmoniously to achieve extremely fast progress to date in developing a best-in-class emerging memory technology. Our goal is to demonstrate the ReRAM cell intended for the discrete memory market by mid-2021.”
Olivier Faynot, Microelectronic Section Manager at CEA-Leti, said:
“The fast-growing non-volatile-memory market is looking for new technologies, especially in the discrete-memory sector. This dynamic creates attractive opportunities for innovators such as CEA-Leti and Weebit, and we are expanding our joint R&D work to cover this important domain.”
