Hitachi and Renesas Technology Develop Low-Power MOS Phase-Change Memory Cells for On-Chip Memory of Microcontrollers.TOKYO -- Renesas Technology Renesas Technology Corporation (ルネサス テクノロジ| Corp.: --The new cell, which can be programmed at a 1.5V power supply voltage with only a 100uA programming current, is a promising solution for the on-chip nonvolatile memory See non-volatile memory. of next-generation microcontrollers for embedded systems Embedded systems Computer systems that cannot be programmed by the user because they are preprogrammed for a specific task and are buried within the equipment they serve. . Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :HIT)(TOKYO:6501) and Renesas Technology Corp. today announced the successful prototyping of low-power phase-change memory This article contains information about scheduled or expected . It may contain preliminary or speculative information, and may not reflect the final specification of the product. cells. The nonvolatile semiconductor storage elements can be programmed at a power supply voltage of 1.5V and a low current of 100uA -- about 50 percent less power consumption per cell than previous technology reported by Hitachi and Renesas. Moreover, the new phase-change cells compare favorably with existing nonvolatile memory in terms of high-speed writing and reading capabilities, high programming endurance, small size, and high-level integration. Thus, they provide a promising solution for on-chip program and data storage in next-generation microcontrollers for embedded applications such as information devices, home electric appliances, and in-vehicle equipment and control systems. The prototype cells were fabricated in a 130-nanometer CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss." The most widely used integrated circuit design. It is found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. process. Their structure uses MOS (1) (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) See MOSFET. (2) (Mean Opinion Score) The quality of a digitized voice line. It is a subjective measurement that is derived entirely by people listening to the calls and scoring the results from transistors and a phase-change film that enters an amorphous state(1) (high resistance) or crystalline state (low resistance) in response to heat. They are programmed to one state or the other via a tungsten bottom-electrode contact (BEC) with a diameter of 180nm. In a read operation, the stored digital (1 or 0) information is determined from a difference in the amount of current flowing in the film. To obtain the breakthrough power-consumption results, the Hitachi and Renesas researchers developed an original phase-change film with low-current, low-voltage programming capability. They produced the film by controlled oxygen doping doping, in electronics: see semiconductor. Altering the electrical conductivity of a semiconductor material, such as silicon, by chemically combining it with foreign elements. of a germanium-antimony-tellurium (GeSbTe) material. The oxygen doping enables the resistance of the phase-change film to be constrained to an optimal level and suppresses the flow of excessively large currents during programming. Also, the cell implementation allows the gate widths of the MOS transistors forming the cells to be decreased and the drive output MOS transistors to be reduced, making it possible to shrink the size of the memory cells and drive circuitry. Details of the breakthrough low-power MOS phase-change memory cell technology were revealed in a technical paper presented at the International Electron Devices Meeting The International Electron Devices Meeting is an annual conference held alternatively in San Francisco, California and Washington D.C. Established in 1954, IEDM is the world's main forum on advancement in semiconductor and electronic devices. held in Washington D.C. from December 5, 2005. About Hitachi, Ltd. Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE:HIT), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 347,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2004 (ended March 31, 2005) consolidated sales totaled 9,027.0 billion yen ($84.4 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. . For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's Website at http://www.hitachi.com. About Renesas Technology Corp. Renesas Technology Corp. designs and manufactures highly integrated semiconductor system solutions for automotive, mobile and PC/AV markets. Established on April 1, 2003 as a joint venture between Hitachi, Ltd. (TOKYO:6501)(NYSE:HIT) and Mitsubishi Electric Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (三菱電機株式会社 Corporation (TOKYO:6503) and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Renesas Technology is one of the largest semiconductor companies in the world and the world-leading microcontroller supplier globally. Besides microcontrollers, Renesas Technology offers system-on-chip devices, Smart Card ICs, mixed-signal products, flash memories, SRAMs and more. www.renesas.com (1) Amorphous state: A state in which the atoms or molecules making up a solid do not have a regular structure, such as a crystalline structure. (Also referred to as a noncrystalline state.) |
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