Efabless to offer Weebit ReRAM memory at 130nm
Efabless in the US is to offer the Weebit Nano resistive non-volatile memory for prototype devices on a 130nm process from SkyWater.
The deal allows Efabless chipIgnite customers access to the Weebit ReRAM to incorporate into designs manufactured using SkyWater Technology Foundry’s 130nm CMOS (S130) process.
Weebit ReRAM technology in SkyWater S130 is an ultra-low power, fast, radiation tolerant and secure NVM with excellent reliability even at high temperatures. The technology is qualified for automotive-grade temperatures, and ready for production.
As part of the collaboration, Efabless customers will pay a small fee to use Weebit ReRAM in their designs. If the customer decides to move to commercial production with their design, they will license the ReRAM IP directly from Weebit.
“There’s the manufacturing part of the IP with the foundry with the process steps and we license the design IP to customers and give them the full macro,” Eran Briman, VP of marketing and business development at Weebit tells eeNews Europe.
“SkyWater has big business with aerospace and defence customers and our technology is radiation tolerant,” he said. “It’s a back end of line addition between two metal layers and we are seeing foundries starting to engage.”
chipIgnite is an open-source chip design platform that makes it easy and affordable to design and fabricate chips for prototyping or small production programs in areas such as IoT, artificial intelligence and other burgeoning applications. As chipIgnite users prototype and test their next-generation designs, they can now take advantage of Weebit ReRAM to embed more system capabilities in their products.
“The Efabless chipIgnite program is exciting, as it enables academics, researchers, startups and even groups within large OEMs to quickly and cost-effectively develop and test new designs,” said Coby Hanoch, CEO of Weebit Nano. “We anticipate that it will broaden industry awareness of Weebit ReRAM and grow the community of designers using our technology. Some of these users will ultimately want to license our product for commercial production, and we’re working with Efabless to accelerate this process.”
The underlying resistive RAM technology was developed at CEA-Leti in France for applications where embedded flash cannot operate, particularly in edge AI and has Weebit has qualified the ReRam technology down to 22nm.
Mohamed Kassem, CTO of Efabless, said: “Efabless makes chip design and prototyping easy and affordable. We are seeing increased interest in creating designs with integrated NVM. We’re delighted to add Weebit’s innovative ReRAM IP to our portfolio, enabling our users to build more capabilities and intelligence for applications such as TinyML. By embedding NVM on-chip in their prototypes, designers can better understand the real-life behavior of their devices.”
Weebit has also licensed the ReRam technology to DongBu Hitek in Korea for power management and high voltage BCD process. It was also showing a technology demonstrator with GlobalFoundries at the recent Embedded World exhibition.
“The demonstration opens doors with GF wafers and we have demonstrated we can go further,” said Briman.
www.efabless.com; www.weebit-nano.com
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