Qualification of Weebit Nano ReRAM Module for Automotive Grade Temperature

Weebit Nano Ltd. has qualified its Resistive Random-Access Memory (ReRAM) module up to 125°C, the temperature specified for automotive grade 1 NVMs.

This achievement demonstrates the suitability of ReRAM for use in microcontrollers and other automotive components, as well as high-temperature industrial and IoT applications.

The qualification, using the company’s demo chips manufactured by its R&D partner CEA-Leti, was performed based on JEDEC industry standards for NVMs. These standards impose testing of many silicon dies blindly selected from 3 independent wafer lots.

Most chips for consumer and industrial applications need to be qualified for up to 10 years at temperatures between 0°C and 85°C. Advanced automotive components are much more stringent, requiring qualification at higher temperatures for 10 years or longer, with zero failures. All the Weebit dies passed the entire set of qualification tests at 125°C for 10 years retention, demonstrating the quality and repeatability of the company’s embedded ReRAM IP for applications requiring high-temperature reliability.

Coby Hanoch, CEO, Weebit Nano, said: “This achievement is part of an ongoing process through which we are extending the qualification of our ReRAM technology to even higher temperatures, longer retention and higher endurance levels. In our discussions with tier-1 foundries and semiconductor companies, we’re seeing increased interest in our ReRAM for automotive and industrial applications. Proving the resilience of Weebit ReRAM at such high temperatures will continue to move these discussions forward. We believe ReRAM to be a better choice for automotive and industrial applications compared to other emerging NVMs not only because of its high temperature performance, but also its low complexity, cost effectiveness, and other advantages such as tolerance to radiation and electromagnetic interference.”

According to Simone Bertolazzi, PhD. principal technology and market analyst, memory, Yole Intelligence, part of Yole Group: “Embedded ReRAM is a promising candidate for automotive applications, demonstrating better performance metrics than flash, such as programming time, endurance, and power consumption. Thanks to the involvement of major foundries and leading automotive MCU suppliers, the volume of embedded ReRAM wafers is expected to rise at a CAGR >80% between 2022 and 2028. In this dynamic context, Weebit’s ReRAM can cost-effectively scale to advanced process nodes, where modern automotive chips are designed. Weebit Nano is joining industry leaders in pioneering resistive memory technology for this growing market, offering chip designers an opportunity to create automotive circuits with a better balance of performance, power and cost.” ⁽¹⁾

The firm’s ReRAM demo chip comprises a full sub-system for embedded applications, including the Weebit ReRAM module, a RISC-V microcontroller (MCU), system interfaces, memories and peripherals. The ReRAM module includes a 128Kb 1T1R ReRAM array, control logic, decoders, IO/s (Input/Output communication elements) and ECC. It is designed with patent-pending analog and digital circuitry running smart algorithms that enhance the memory array’s technical parameters.

The company continues to extend the qualification of its ReRAM modules to higher temperature and endurance levels, both with CEA-Leti and SkyWater Technology.

⁽¹⁾ Source: Emerging Non-Volatile Memory report, Yole Intelligence, 2023