Microsystem
Cambridge University spin-off Cavendish Kinetics claims a major new technology that offers the lowest power and entry-cost embedded non-volatile memory (NVM) in the industry.
The patented Nanomech technology is the subject of more than 10 years of research at Cavendish Kinetics. Submicron moveable structures represent one bit of memory and require only 25picoJ to program, giving rise to exceptionally low write/erase power requirements. The technology is said to be process scaleable and can be used with process nodes to below 45nm.
Nanomech is capable of simple incorporation into standard CMOS and other processes, the company says. The promise is a lower power, higher speed alternative to embedded fuse, Flash and EEPROM memory. The company also reports functional silicon.
The company claims that the complexity of the additional Nanomech elements used in an embedded circuit is low, and because they are freely located within the existing interconnect process, no re-qualification of process or design is necessary. Furthermore, the addition of Nanomech does not involve investment in new processing equipment on the part of the fabrication facility.
Embedded memory structures based on Nanomech can withstand operating temperatures up to +200degreesC, well in excess of the +125degreesC normally associated with semiconductor products. Radiation tolerance exceeds that of the underlying silicon.
Furthermore, because of the negligible mass of the structures, a force of more than 100mn times the force of gravity would be required to make a memory cell change state. In addition to embedded use, the company sees these attributes as making the technology ideal for automotive, medical, aerospace, military, industrial and many other applications.
Mike Beunder, Cavendish Kinetics CEO, comments: "Apart from offering the lowest cost entry barrier for any embedded NVM technology, those involved in design and process integration will be immensely attracted by how easily it can be incorporated onto any standard CMOS, or even GaAs or SiGe process. We are confident that Nanomech will be a winner."
Paul Hedges, Cavendish Kinetics' Strategic Marketing director, adds: "We believe our ultra-low power, flexible and cost-effective NVM technology will make big in-roads in many volume applications ranging from automotive controllers through to smart cards and RFID chips."
The company intends to announce its first silicon intellectual property (IP) product aimed at the e-fuse market in Q3 2004. Embedded applications include trimming and feature selection for analogue and mixed signal, redundancy, small user-programmable ROM arrays (UPROMS) as well as chip ID. The following year will see the introduction of embedded one-time programmable (eOTP) and embedded many-times programmable (eMTP) versions. After this, the company plans to broaden its customer base with high growth, high volume applications in the portable product, smart card and automotive sectors.
The company's research is based at the Cavendish Laboratories in the UK while process development is undertaken at facilities in Stuttgart, Germany. Headquarters are in the Netherlands and 25 people are employed. Founded in 1994, Cavendish Kinetics has received funding of $6.5mn from several sources including Canadian Venture Capitalist, Celtic House, and European entrepreneur and co-founder Hermann Hauser.
Scientists and engineers at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne specialising in miniaturisation technology must have been looking out the window while they work. They have reduced local landmarks - North East England's Tyne Bridge and Antony Gormley's Angel of the North sculpture - to silicon structures around 400microns across. This makes these rather large objects smaller than a pinhead and invisible to the naked eye. The team used a combination of chemistry, physics and mechanical engineering techniques to create the tiny structures.
The team believes that the technology used to develop the bridge and the angel could be used to make miniaturised antennae for next-generation mobile phones. These chip antennas will significantly reduce the power consumption and cost of production of mobile communication devices.
The scientists are based at the Innovation in Nanotechnology Exploitation (INEX) engineering and commercialisation arm of the Institute for Nanoscale Science & Technology at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. The techniques developed in making these demonstration objects are now being used by INEX to develop a number of applications on behalf of industry.
