MagnaChip: Second Gen 0.13μ Embedded Flash

MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation announced the offering of its second generation 0.13μ eFlash (Embedded Flash) technology with 20V and 30V high-voltage options.

The technology addresses the needs for multi-function hybrid mixed-signal products, including touch ICs, fingerprint readout ICs and wireless power charger ICs.

With the growing complexity of analog and mixed-signal functions, IC designers are facing increasing challenges to integrate multiple functions in a single product. The wireless power charger ICs, for instance, include digital logic, analog blocks, power management functions, embedded microcontrollers, etc. In order to design and manufacture such multi-functional products, hybrid processes capable of integrating various devices have become desirable.

To meet these market needs, the company developed a cost-competitive hybrid process through the addition of 20V and 30V high-voltage options to its second generation 0.13μ eFlash, which has high performing and reliable embedded flash, being a cost competitive process as it reduced seven process steps in comparison to the first generation 0.13μ eFlash. It also provides various customized IPs up to 64KB. Even with the addition of the high voltage option, the hybrid process maintains the original eFlash characteristics.

Additional benefit of this process is that customers can select either 20V or 30V, whichever fits their products’ characteristics while having the option to choose IPs such as SRAM, PLL analog IPs, high density standard cell libraries and high voltage IO libraries to meet their design needs. Furthermore, the hybrid process provides fully isolated high-voltage capability for the output driver to handle negative voltage, thereby allowing higher design flexibility.

The company’s newly developed hybrid process uses the high-voltage devices of which reliability has been verified in DDI (Display Driver IC) technology and can minimize high-voltage area in chips through more optimized design rules and enhanced current performance. This high-voltage capability is important for products needing high-voltage output drivers and those requiring high SNR (signal to noise ratio). For instance, touch ICs in tablets and notebooks mainly use 20V and monitors use 30V.

So far, the firm has been developing various hybrid processes with higher performance at lower costs to meet the growing market needs for diverse and multi-function foundry products. Additionally, the next version of the hybrid embedded eFlash process is under development to extend the voltage capability to 40V. Another type of hybrid process, e-Flash with 40V BCD (Bipolar CMOS DMOS), has been accepted in the market. The company is also developing e-Flash with 120V BCD process to continue to pioneer new markets. These technologies have the potential for applications including wireless power chargers, USB type-C PDs, motor driver ICs and BLU driver ICs.

“The second generation 0.13μ eFlash with high-voltage technology is highly desirable for products requiring both memory and high-voltage, such as wireless power charger ICs, large panel touch ICs and fingerprint ICs,” said YJ Kim, CEO, MagnaChip, “MagnaChip will continue to develop new hybrid technologies to enable our customers to design various products and to stay competitive in the market.”

MagnaChip Semiconductor
It is a designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor platform solutions for communications, IoT, consumer, industrial and automotive applications. The company’s ‘Standard Products Group and Foundry Services Group’ provide a range of standard products and manufacturing services to customers worldwide. The company, with about 40 years of operating history, owns a portfolio of approximately 3,000 registered patents and pending applications, and has engineering, design and manufacturing process expertise.