Designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products, MagnaChip Semiconductor, has announced its second generation 0.13 micron eFlash (Embedded Flash) technology with 20V and 30V high-voltage options.
The technology is specifically designed to address the needs for multi-function hybrid mixed-signal products, including touch ICs, fingerprint readout ICs and wireless power charger ICs.
With the growing complexity of analog and mixed-signal functions, IC designers are facing increasing challenges to integrate multiple functions in a single product. The wireless power charger ICs, for instance, include digital logic, analog blocks, power management functions, embedded microcontrollers, etc. In order to design and manufacture such multi-functional products, hybrid processes capable of integrating various devices have become highly desirable.
To meet these market needs, MagnaChip has developed a cost-competitive hybrid process through the addition of 20 and 30V high-voltage options to its second generation 0.13 micron eFlash. The second generation 0.13 micron eFlash, which has high performing and highly reliable embedded Flash, is a cost competitive process as it reduced 7 process steps in comparison to the first generation 0.13 micron eFlash. It also provides various customized IPs up to 64Kbytes. Even with the addition of the high voltage option, the hybrid process maintains the original eFlash characteristics.
Additional benefit of this process is that customers can now select either 20 or 30V, whichever fits their products’ characteristics while having the option to choose IPs such as SRAM, PLL analog IPs, high density standard cell libraries and high voltage IO libraries to meet their design needs. Furthermore, the hybrid process provides fully isolated high-voltage capability for the output driver to handle negative voltage, thereby allowing higher design flexibility.
MagnaChip’s newly developed hybrid process uses the high-voltage devices of which reliability has already been verified in DDI (Display Driver IC) technology and can minimize high-voltage area in chips through more optimized design rules and enhanced current performance. This high-voltage capability is particularly important for products needing high-voltage output drivers and those requiring high SNR (signal to noise ratio). For instance, touch ICs in tablets and notebooks mainly use 20V and monitors use 30V.
MagnaChip to date has been developing various hybrid processes with higher performance at lower costs to meet the growing market needs for diverse and multi-function foundry products. Additionally, the next version of the hybrid embedded eFlash process is already under development to extend the voltage capability to 40V. Another type of hybrid process, e-Flash with 40V BCD (Bipolar CMOS DMOS), has been widely accepted in the market.
MagnaChip is also developing e-Flash with 120V BCD process to continue to pioneer new markets. These technologies have the potential for broad applications including wireless power chargers, USB type-C PDs, motor driver ICs and BLU driver ICs.
“The second generation 0.13 micron eFlash with high-voltage technology is highly desirable for products requiring both memory and high-voltage, such as wireless power charger ICs, large panel touch ICs and fingerprint ICs,” said YJ Kim, CEO of MagnaChip, “MagnaChip will continue to develop new hybrid technologies to enable our customers to design various products and to stay competitive in the market.”
