Leti and CMP announce multiproject wafer service with integrated silicon OxRAM
Grenoble, France. Leti, a research institute at CEA Tech, and CMP, a service organization that provides prototyping and low-volume production of ICs and MEMS, today announced the industry’s first multiproject-wafer (MPW) process for fabricating emerging nonvolatile OxRAM (oxide-based resistive RAM) devices on a 200-mm foundry base-wafer platform. The organizations will describe their work at the Flash Memory Summit August 7-9 in Santa Clara.
Available on Leti’s 200-mm CMOS line, the MPW service provides a comprehensive, low-cost way to explore techniques designed to achieve miniaturized, high-density components. Including Leti’s Memory Advanced Demonstrator (MAD) future mask set with disruptive OxRAM technology, Leti’s integrated silicon memory platform is developed for backend memories and nonvolatility associated with embedded designs. The new technology platform will be based on HfO2/Ti (titanium-doped hafnium oxide) active layers.
Emerging OxRAM nonvolatile memory is one of the promising technologies to be implemented for classical embedded memory applications on advanced nodes like microcontrollers or secure products, as well as for AI accelerators and neuromorphic computing.
Leti’s MAD platform is dedicated to advanced nonvolatile memories, bringing both versatility and robustness for material and interface assessment and allowing in-depth exploration of memory performance from technology and design perspectives.
Here are the full platform’s highlights:
- 200-mm STMicroelectronics HCMOS9A base wafers in 130-nm node,
- all routing made on ST base wafers from M1 to M4 (included),
- Leti’s OxRAM memory module fabricated on top, and
- one level of interconnect (that is, M5) plus pads fabricated in Leti’s cleanroom.
“Leti has developed during the past 20 years deep expertise in nonvolatile memory (NVM) devices covering flash evolutive solutions and disruptive technologies,” said Etienne Nowak, head of the Leti’s Advanced Memory Lab. “This MPW capability, combined with our Memory Advanced Demonstrator platform, is based on a broad toolbox that enables customized research with our partners and provides a benchmark between different NVM solutions.”
The MPW service with integrated silicon OxRAM addresses all the key steps of advanced memory development. These include material engineering and analysis, developing critical memory modules, evaluation of memory cells coupled with electrical tests, and modeling and innovative design techniques to comply with circuit design opportunities and constraints. This technology offer comes with a design kit, including layout, verification and simulation capabilities. Libraries are provided with a comprehensive list of active and passive electro-optical components. The design kit environment is compatible with all offers through CMP.
Providing access to a nonvolatile memory process from Leti is a major achievement in development work at CMP. Since 2003, the organization has participated in national and European projects for developing access to NVM technologies (Mag-SPICE, Calomag, Cilomag, Spin, and Dipmem). With this new offer in place, the CMP users’ community can have the benefits and advantages of using this process through this close collaboration between CMP and Leti.
“CMP has a long experience providing smaller organizations with access to advanced manufacturing technologies, and there is very strong interest in the CMP community in designing and prototyping ICs using this process,” said Jean-Christophe Crébier, director of CMP. “It is an opportunity for many universities, start-ups and SMEs in France, Europe, North America and Asia to take advantage of this new technology and MPW service.”