GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Freescale to develop 90nm flash memory technology

GTC 2010, MILPITAS, USA: At the inaugural Global Technology Conference, GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Freescale Semiconductor announced plans to bring a new class of thin film storage (TFS) flash memory products to market on 90nm technology.

The advanced technology is expected to be deployed in Freescale microcontrollers (MCUs) targeted for applications ranging from consumer electronics and household appliances to medical devices and smart metering systems.

Freescale’s TFS technology with FlexMemory capability—configurable electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)—is used in both the ColdFire+™ and Kinetis families of 32-bit MCUs.

This next generation non-volatile memory (NVM) technology based on the thin film storage concept will be manufactured on GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ 90nm technology. Early test chips are already in production at GLOBALFOUNDRIES Fab 7 in Singapore, with technology certification expected to complete in the first half of 2011.

The 90nm TFS technology differs from other conventional non-volatile memory architectures in that it uses an innovative silicon nano-crystal technology to provide a scalable and industry-leading technology with excellent bit-level reliability, speed, power and area.

“Our alliance with Freescale is a great example of the collaborative approach we are bringing to the foundry industry,” said Gregg Bartlett, senior vice president of technology and research and development at GLOBALFOUNDRIES.

“We are tapping our industry-leading time-to-volume capabilities and working closely with Freescale at the early stages of product development to bring this innovative flash memory technology to market.”

“Freescale is focused on developing differentiating, embedded NVM process technologies which enable market-leading MCU solutions for our customers,” said Reza Kazerounian, senior vice president and general manager of Freescale’s Microcontroller Solutions Group. “Our partnership with GLOBALFOUNDRIES will allow us to accelerate industrialization of our TFS technology, helping us remain at the forefront of embedded innovation.”