Arm and Samsung Foundry say they are “pushing the possibilities” of semiconductor manufacturing with industry’s first embedded magnetoresistive random-access memory compiler and new physical IP offerings on advanced process nodes including 7nm and 5nm.
What researchers have predicted for several years is now a reality – the end of Moore’s Law is approaching and will impact performance power and area (PPA) across all computing applications.
This includes embedded products used throughout consumer and industrial markets requiring reliable, yet low-power, complex-memory systems to support a spectrum of applications but are limited by the speed, power, and scalability offered by non-volatile mainstream memory options, such as eFlash.
Embedded magnetoresistive random access memory, or eMRAM, is a novel non-volatile memory option and today.
Arm and Samsung Foundry are announcing the industry’s first eMRAM compiler offering which will be available on Samsung Foundry’s 28FDS (FDSOI) process technology.
This new compiler IP allows customers the flexibility to scale their memory needs based on complexity of various use-cases.
What drives the cost-effectiveness of this compiler IP is that eMRAM can be integrated with as few as three additional masks, while eFlash requires greater than 12 additional masks at 40nm and below.
Also, the eMRAM compiler can generate instances to replace Flash, Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) and slow SRAM/data buffer memories with a single non-volatile fast memory – particularly suited for cost- and power- sensitive IoT applications.
Arm says it has successfully completed the first eMRAM IP test chip tapeout.
Today’s announcement is only the latest milestone in our collaboration with Samsung Foundry, which began with the 65nm process node and has carried on through recent new offerings of Arm’s physical IP on Samsung Foundry’s 11LPP (11nm Low Power Plus), 7LPP (7nm Low Power Plus) and 5LPE (5nm Low Power Early) process technologies.
We have worked closely with Samsung Foundry to develop and verify these manufacturing process innovations using Arm’s physical and processor IP, allowing us to integrate support for these innovations in future CPU, GPU, and other processor cores.
In addition to the eMRAM compiler IP offering, here are details on the recent physical IP offerings from Arm for Samsung Foundry’s advanced nodes:
New manufacturing nodes to support extreme ultraviolet lithography
Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, a long-awaited and game-changing technology for producing ultra-small semiconductor circuit patterns, is expected to extend the life of Moore’s Law, and Samsung Foundry will be one of the leading companies to put this promising technology into commercial production.
Each of the Arm physical IP offerings recently announced will significantly reduce the complexity and design resources needed to implement next-generation semiconductor designs, allowing customers to get new products to market quickly.
