SkyWater Delivers Silicon Wafers Integrating Embedded ReRAM Module to Weebit Nano

Weebit Nano Limited and SkyWater Technology announce the first silicon wafers integrating embedded ReRAM module have been delivered to the company from SkyWater’s US production fab.

This is the first time silicon wafers of ReRAM have been received from a production fab, a milestone toward commercialization of the technology at SkyWater.

Manufacturing of ReRAM is now proven with standard tools and a mature process flow, making it easy for customers to adopt this NVM for development of their SoC designs. The silicon wafers will be sliced into chips, packaged, and then tested and qualified.

The chips, which were manufactured in SkyWater’s 130nm CMOS process, will be used for customer demonstrations, testing and prototyping ahead of commercial orders and volume production, allowing customers to confidently start designing SoCs using these ReRAM modules.

SkyWater’s 130nm process has been used reliably for billions of devices made for automotive, industrial and consumer applications. The automotive-grade, extended temperature, mixed-signal CMOS platform is suited for IoT and edge computing as it enables a combination of both digital and analog circuit performance with embedded NVM for a range of SoC architectures.

Coby Hanoch, CEO, Weebit Nano, said: “This is the first time we’ve received ReRAM wafers from a production fab – a milestone towards commercialization that has been achieved on-time through our close partnership with SkyWater. This increases the confidence of potential customers in our IP, pushing forward companies interested in engaging with us, and we’re seeing discussions with potential customers ramping up as we get closer to production. The demo chips produced by SkyWater integrating Weebit’s ReRAM module are enabling these companies to see the true advantages our technology can provide.”

Mark Litecky, CRO, SkyWater, said: “As part of our Technology-as-a-Service model, SkyWater works with customers to co-create solutions with innovative architectures, materials and approaches to integration. Weebit ReRAM is an exciting new NVM that customers across a broad array of markets can incorporate into their SoCs to achieve differentiation. We already see strong interest for the technology for applications including IoT, power management and mixed-signal ICs. Looking ahead, Weebit ReRAM is a rich building block for hybrid architectures that can be flexibly integrated in new and interesting ways – an exciting prospect for companies looking to bring innovative ideas to reality.”

The demo chips comprise a full subsystem for embedded applications, including the ReRAM module, a RISC-V microcontroller (MCU), system interfaces, memories and peripherals. Embedded ReRAM module includes a 256Kb ReRAM array, control logic, decoders, IOs and ECC. It is designed with patent-pending analog and digital smart circuitry running smart algorithms that enhance the memory array’s technical parameters. It also supports an extended temperature range, 10 years’ data retention at high temperatures, fast access time, and low standby power.

Full qualification of the highly integrated demo chips in SkyWater’s US production fab is expected to be completed in 1H23.

ReRAM IP is available in SkyWater’s 130nm CMOS process. The company’s customers should contact their representative to learn more about how to get started on their design.

ReRAM preliminary key features

Technology	130nm, SkyWater S130
Mask adder	2
Supply voltage	1.8V Read 1.8V+3.3/3.6V Program
Cell programming voltage	1.4V – 1.8V Set and Reset
Read access time	<20nsec
Operation temp.	-40⁰C – 85⁰C (can be extended to -55⁰C – 125/150⁰C)
Capacity	256Kb (can be customized for 128Kb– 2Mb)