Local-listed advanced memory technologies provider for the global semiconductor industry Weebit Nano (ASX:WBT), has had its Resistive Random-Access Memory (ReRAM) IP fully qualified for industrial temperatures employing SkyWater Technology’s (NASDAQ:SKYT) 130nm CMOS (S130) process, including third party processing.
The full qualification confirms the quality, repeatability and reliability of Weebit’s embedded ReRAM module, when SkyWater customers use Weebit’s proven non-volatile memory (NVM) IP in volume production. The qualification used demo chips produced by SkyWater which integrate Weebit ReRAM IP. The tests were performed per the JEDEC industry standards for NVMs which impose rigorous testing of many silicon die blindly selected from three independent wafer lots.
All the die successfully passed the entire set of qualification tests, validating the ReRAM’s suitability for volume production as embedded IP. The Weebit ReRAM IP was qualified in four main areas:
Weebit ReRAM enables companies to create systems on chip (SoC) designs that are more energy efficient, more reliable, better secured and lower cost than those using flash or other emerging NVMs. Weebit ReRAM technology in S130 is an ultra-low power, radiation tolerant and fast NVM that companies can use in developing highly integrated SoCs for applications including analog/mixed-signal, IoT, automotive, industrial, medical and more.
Coby Hanoch, CEO of Weebit Nano, said: “Successful qualification of our technology in SkyWater S130 confirms that customers can have confidence that the IP will work reliably as specified. Together with SkyWater, we are engaged in numerous customer discussions and anticipate that Weebit ReRAM will be in design with one or more of these customers during this calendar year. SkyWater’s technology as-a-service approach is a great differentiator for customers developing new IP, and its robust process technologies for mixed-signal designs, rad-hard ICs, ROICs and power management are an excellent fit for our ReRAM technology, offering a unique value-add to various markets and applications.”
Steve Kosier, SkyWater CTO, said: “Our customers are increasingly looking to integrate NVM in their SoC designs to embed more intelligence and capabilities in their next-generation products across a range of markets. Weebit ReRAM is ideal for many of our customers’ applications, with ultra-low power consumption, fast access time, excellent reliability even at high temperatures and tolerance to radiation and electro-magnetic fields. As a U.S.-based pure-play foundry, SkyWater’s mixed-signal CMOS platform has been used reliably for billions of devices to-date, in the automotive, aerospace, industrial and medical markets. Now with an embedded NVM enabled in our CMOS platform, we are able to better serve the smart IoT device and edge computing markets.”
Weebit ReRAM IP in S130
Weebit ReRAM IP is an embedded module with a complete set of EDA views and collateral compatible with the industry leading design flows to enable smooth integration by SoC architects. The module in S130 includes a 256Kb ReRAM array, control logic, decoders, IOs (Input/Output communication elements) and error correcting code (ECC). Its scalable, modular design enables customisation according to a customer’s specific design requirements (e.g., memory density, word size, system interface).
The module is designed with unique patent-pending analog and digital circuitry running smart algorithms that significantly enhance the memory array’s technical parameters. Upon request, the module can be made available as part of a complete subsystem including a RISC-V microcontroller (MCU), system interfaces, Static Random-Access Memory (SRAM), and peripherals. Weebit ReRAM can be easily scaled to other processes.