Speed and power benefits of embedded DRAM..............
techweb.cmp.com
A service of Semiconductor Business News, CMP Media Inc.
Story posted at 2:15 p.m. EST/11:15 a.m. PST, 1/14/98
UMC makes embedded-DRAM IC
using new 0.35-micron technology
SAN JOSE--Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) said it
has successfully produced a low-power LCD multimedia controller designed
by Silicon Motion Inc., using a 0.35-micron process technology for
embedded DRAM.
Separately, UMC said it has begun production shipments of a 2-Mbit flash
memory for Catalyst Semiconductor Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., using a new
0.5-micron process technology. UMC said it will provide Catalyst with
"significant" foundry capacity using the half-micron technology.'
Meanwhile, UMC said its 0.35-micron embedded-DRAM technology
packed 2-Mbytes of memory on Silicon Motion's LynxE LCD multimedia
controller.
"These efforts have allowed Silicon Motion a unique position in the market
well ahead of competitors," said Don Brooks, chief executive officer of
,b>UMC Group International Operations, based in San Jose. "We have
successfully established production of an embedded-DRAM process that
can be utilized for ultra-low power consumption while preserving the high
performance of a logic process."
UMC said it developed a 4-poly, 3-metal embedded-DRAM process
based on a 0.35-micron logic process for Silicon Motion's requirements. In
addition, UMC's design support team partnered with Silicon Motion in the
development of an embedded design core incorporating independent
memory-bank access control, which resulted in very low power dissipation,
according to the silicon foundry, which is based in Hsinchu, Taiwan.
"The LynxE is single chip and features rich multimedia, high-bandwidth and
high-performance, yet consumes less than one-half watt," said Wallace Kou,
president and CEO of Silicon Motion in San Jose. The chip operating at 70
MHz and features a 192-bit memory bus providing peak bandwidth of 1.6
GB/second. The company is offering samples of the IC with volume
production set to begin later in the first quarter.
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