Embedded RRAM

Qualcomm Technologies has announced two new IOT chipsets, the Qualcomm QCC730M and Qualcomm QCC74xM modules. The company says that these modules are perfectly suited for IoT applications in the smart home, smart appliances and more.

The QCC730M chip is is a dual-band, micro-power Wi-Fi 4 module. Offering a dedicated 60Mhz MCU units, 640kB of SRAM and 1.5Mb  RRAM memory. The QCC730M also integrates hardware crypto accelerator, and secure boot, debug, and storage.

China-based Xianxin Technology, in collaboration with several research institutes in China, have developed the world's first 28 nm image quality adjustment chip that is powered by embedded RRAM memory.

The company says it is now mass producing the new driver IC, which will be supplied to high-end miniLED LCD TV makers. The company says that by adopting RRAM rather than the mainstream external Flash memory, it enables faster read operations, and lower cost production. 

China-based wireless IC designer New Radio Tech (NRT) introduced a new Ultra-WideBand (UWB) chip, the URSAMAJOR 82660, that integrates RRAM. We assume that the embedded RRAM technology was provided by Hefei Reliance Memory, but we're not certain.

The company says that integrating the RRAM into their chip is a major achievements, and it allows them to reduce the chip's footprint by 40%, while being highly cost effective compared to conventional chips that are based on external Flash or integrated eFlash solutions.

In October 2023 RRAM developer Weebit Nano announced that it has signed a licensing agreement with DB HiTek, a Korean-based foundry (said to be one of the world's top 10 foundries). The commercial agreement includes technology transfer, qualification and licensing.

Yesterday Weebit announced together with DB HiTek that it has taped-out (released to manufacturing) a demonstration chip integrating Weebit’s embedded RRAM module in DB HiTek’s 130nm Bipolar-CMOS-DMOS (BCD) process. The highly integrated demo chips will be used for testing and qualification ahead of customer production, while demonstrating the performance and robustness of Weebit’s technology.

China-based OLED producer Visionox, together with Sunrise Display Microelectronics and Hefei Reliance Memory, developed the world's firs AMOLED device driver that is powered by RRAM memory. 

All AMOLED drivers on the market use a combination of SRAM memory, OTP (one-time programmable memory) and external Flash memory (for non-volatile memory), mostly to perform the Demura compensation function. The RRAM memory enables lower cost of production, higher efficiency - and smaller area.

Nuvoton Technology launched the M2L31, a new energy-efficient microcontroller, that features up to 512Kb of high-performance low-power non-volatile RRAM.

The M2L31 is based on an Arm Cortex-M23 core (up to 72Mhz), and is designed to meet the growing demand for sustainable high-performance embedded computing power. Nuvoton explains that a main contributor to the high efficiency of the new chip is its choice of memory, an on-chip RRAM instead of flash memory that draws less power and can be written to without an erase cycle beforehand.

Israel-based RRAM developer Weebit Nano announced a new partnership with Efabless, a creator platform for semiconductor chips, to enable faster and more cost-effective prototype creation of new System-on-Chip (SoC) designs using Weebit’s RRAM technology.

The agreement provides Efabless’ thousands of users and customers with access to Weebit’s IP, which can be incorporated into their designs manufactured using SkyWater Technology Foundry’s 130nm CMOS process. Weebit’s RRAM technology is already proven and qualified up to 125C in SkyWater Technology’s US production fab.

Israel-based RRAM developer Weebit Nano announced that it has received the first wafers integrating its
embedded RRAM memory manufactured in GlobalFoundries’ 22FDX platform. Initial tests of the wafers in this advanced 22nm FD-SOI (fully depleted silicon on insulator) are showing positive results on the array.

Weebit says that these are the first wafers with Weebit ReRAM manufactured in 22nm, one of the industry’s most
steadfast process nodes, and a geometry where embedded flash is not viable. 

Israel-based RRAM developer Weebit Nano announced that it has received its first IP licensing revenue for its embedded ReRAM technology.

This initial licensing fee is $100,000. Weebit’s plan is to generate revenues from foundries and product companies in three main ways: licensing fees for design and manufacture; engineering fees for designs and processes; and royalties for use by customers, which will be received once customers begin shipping end products.

UK-based RRAM developer Intrinsic Semiconductor Technologies (Intrinsic) announced a collaboration with sureCore, to accelerate the time to market for its RRAM technology. Intrinsic says that its technology will assist SoC developers looking for embedded memory solutions in 22 nm or smaller nodes. 

sureCore will add Intrinsic's MRAM technology into its SureFIT Custom Design Service. Intrinsic says that both microcontrollers and evolving AI architectures using Intrinsic RRAM will deliver higher performance at lower power envelopes than those realized using off-chip flash.