Fujitsu, Cypress/Infineon, Ramtron, Rohm, TI
Ferroelectric memory FeRAM: Ferroelectric random access memory (abbreviation: “ferroelectric memory”). It is a type of non-volatile memory that uses a ferroelectric layer as a capacitor to store data. The advantages are instant storage when power is off, low power consumption, fast access speed, and high write cycle. In addition, it has the advantages of both read-only memory and random access memory.
It captures data quickly and efficiently, especially in environments where reliable data is critical to functionality. Additionally, the low power consumption of F-RAM makes it an invaluable tool for designers looking to maximize the power efficiency of their designs. At present, there are many ferroelectric manufacturers. In order to give you a clear understanding, I will introduce the top four ferroelectric brands in the industry one by one.
1.Fujitsu
Japan FUJITSU (Fujitsu), established in 1935. It is the world’s leading information and communication technology company, providing products and electronic components, solutions and services from development, manufacturing, sales to maintenance. Products cover ASIC/wafer foundry services, analog products, memory products, microcontrollers, software such as sales management systems, personal computers and workstations, servers, air conditioners, monitors and GPS, etc.
FUJITSU has complete FeRAM production procedures, chip development and mass production and assembly procedures. In addition to independent FeRAM products, Fujitsu Semiconductor can also provide FeRAM RFID solutions, including HF (High Frequency) and UHF (Ultra High Frequency) series, which are especially suitable for meeting the needs of high-reliability electronic label applications such as medical labels.
In 1996, FUJITSU and RAMTRON began to cooperate in the research of FeRAM technology.
In 1999, Fujitsu FeRAM products began to be supplied. Products such as 1M FeRAM and microcontrollers with 64Kb FeRAM use a 500nm process.
In 2001, RAMTRON of the United States and Fujitsu of Japan jointly announced that they had completed the development of a 350nm, 3V multilayer metal FeRAM manufacturing process.
In 2002, Fujitsu has delivered a total of 100 million units of independent FeRAM. Accordingly, the industry believes that the FeRAM mass production problem has been resolved.
In 2008, developed the world’s first FeRAM RFID (electronic tag) for aviation applications with a capacity of 64K.
In 2013, FUJITSU launched two new FeRAM products, MB85RS1MT and MB85RS2MT, with 1 M and 2 M memories respectively, which were the largest serial FeRAMs provided by Fujitsu at that time. The number of reads and writes of this series of products has increased to 10 trillion times, which is 10 times that of Fujitsu’s FeRAM products at that time, providing better support for real-time continuous data recording. The MB85RS1MT device adopts a wafer-level chip-scale package (WL-CSP), which makes its volume only 3.09 × 2.28 × 0.33 mm, making it the smallest 1 M capacity FeRAM device with an SPI interface in the industry. This device provides an ideal choice of memory device for smart wearable devices. This not only reduces the overall size of the terminal application product, but also minimizes the power consumption of the entire system when writing data, prolonging the working time of the system.
At the end of 2014, Fujitsu released MB85RDP16LX, an ultra-low-power FeRAM component that integrates binary functions and is more energy-efficient; the target market for the company’s new products is industrial automation applications, including rotary encoders, motor controllers and sensors. In order to meet the needs of the industrial automation market, the device supports operation at -40 to 105 degrees Celsius and guarantees no risk of data loss for 10 years.
In 2016, the MB85RC64T sample of 64K FeRAM with the lowest operating power consumption in the industry was launched. The product uses an I2C interface and can operate with supply voltages from 1.8V to 3.6V and frequencies up to 3.4 MHz. Its key feature is its extremely low average current in operation (170 uA at 3.4 MHz; 80 uA at 1 MHz). Compared with existing Fujitsu products, its operating power consumption is reduced by nearly 80%, achieving the industry’s lowest operating power consumption of 144uW for 64K FeRAM.
2.Ramtron
American RAMTRON company, established in 1984. It is a fabless semiconductor company. Its products are manufactured by the world’s top semiconductor manufacturers. It has been committed to the design, development and sales of ferroelectric memory products, and provides a wide range of semiconductor integration solutions.
In 2006, RAMTRON released the world’s first microcontroller 8051MCU embedded with FeRAM memory – VRS51L3074, to realize high-speed and high-reliability non-volatile data storage and processing systems.
In 2007, RAMTRON launched the industry’s first 4M non-volatile FeRAM product FM22L16. Launched the FeRAM memory FM25C160, which meets the requirements of Grade 1 and AEC-Q100 specifications. It adopts a serial SPI interface with a voltage of 5V and a capacity of 16K. It can work in the entire automotive temperature range (-40 to +125 degrees), reaching the application level of automotive core systems.
On September 19, 2012, RAMTRON accepted the acquisition request of CYPRESS. At present, the company’s website all jumps to the latter website.
In 2012, CYPRESS acquired RAMTRON and retained the device model of RAMTRON to support existing FeRAM customers. These part numbers cover the FeRAM device densities in the market. FeRAM provides an effective supplement to CYPRESS’s world’s fastest non-volatile static random access memory, which can fully meet the needs of a large number of different applications for saving data when power is off, and provides customers with the most abundant non-volatile memory in the market. Volatile memory capacity, speed and power solution selection.
3. Rohm
Japan ROHM (Rohm) company, established in 1958. One of the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers, covering power components, power solutions, power management ICs, automotive electronics, optical devices, monitoring systems, etc.
ROHM Electronics was the first company to license FeRAM technology from RAMTRON and started production in 1998.
In 2008, acquired Japan OKI Semiconductor.In 2016, developed a FeRAM equipped with a serial bus capacity of 64K: MR44V064B / MR45V064B, which achieved the industry’s top 1.8V minimum operating voltage. 2 Ni-MH rechargeable batteries can also use FeRAM, which can achieve about 11 years of erasing and writing life (when erasing and writing 64K per second), which can achieve longer driving time, and can also be applied to portable devices and IoT fields. In addition, the supported maximum operating frequency is as high as 40MHz (SPI bus), and 64K data can be erased and written in only 1.64ms. Therefore, even if the system is abnormal, ultra-high-speed backup can be performed, ensuring high data reliability. This product has two different serial buses (I2C bus, SPI bus), which can flexibly respond to customer’s system specifications.
At present, ROHM’s FeRAM mainly includes three series: Parallel BUS, I2C BUS, and SPI BUS.
4. Infineon
German Infineon Company, which was renamed from Siemens Semiconductor Company in 1999, is headquartered in Munich, Germany, and was listed independently in 2000. The business covers wired communications, secure mobile solutions, automotive and industrial electronics and memory products, and can provide comprehensive semiconductor product solutions.
In 2000, Infineon purchased about 20% of the shares of RAMTRON with USD 10 million in cash and USD 20 million in fineon stock. The two also form a cross-licensing agreement. RAMTRON grants its FeRAM technology to infineon as a non-independent license, and RAMTRON also obtains some of infineon’s FeRAM manufacturing technology.
infineon and TOSHIBA began to cooperate in the development of FeRAM in 2001. In 2003, they jointly developed a FeRAM with a storage capacity of 32M. This FeRAM adopts a single-transistor single-capacitor (1T1C) cell structure and a 200nm process. The access time is 50ns, the cycle period is 75ns, and the working voltage is 3.0V or 2.5V.
5. TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
Texas Instruments (TEXAS INSTRUMENTS, referred to as TI), was established in 1930. TI is a global digital signal processing and analog technology semiconductor design and manufacturing company with more than 100,000 analog integrated circuits, embedded processors, and software and tools.
In 2001, TI and RAMTRON signed a licensing and development agreement for FeRAM. Mainly adopt 350nm technology.
In 2002, the standard 130nm process was used for the verification and trial production of embedded FeRAM.
In 2005, TI produced 8M FeRAM samples, and RAMTRON announced that it was evaluating.
In 2007, the partnership between TI and RAMTRON expanded. As part of the agreement between the two parties, Texas Instruments will use its own 130nm process to manufacture 4M FeRAM products for RAMTRON. Benefiting from the 130nm process and the innovative COP (capacitor-over-plug) process, it realized the smallest commercial FeRAM unit at that time, only 0.71um2.
Later, TI launched the MSP430 series of products – low-power microcontrollers (MCUs), combining intelligent analog with low system energy, suitable for any power budget. The world’s only family of embedded FeRAM MCUs for a wide range of applications such as smart grids, wearables, sensors and energy harvesting. This is also the focus of TI’s FeRAM business.
At present, Fujitsu, Infineon, TI, ROHM, etc. are the most widely used in the production and promotion of ferroelectric memory FeRAM, and even free samples are available for trial and experience. Those who are interested, especially those who are interested in MCU, microelectronics, microsystems or control Colleagues can pay attention. With the advancement of industry technology and the optimization of production costs, it is believed that the application of ferroelectric memory will become wider and wider, and will fly into the homes of more ordinary people.