A non-volatile embedded memory for high temperature automotive and high-retention applications

A highly reliable and scalable non-volatile embedded memory cell and technology is described. This embedded technology operates at very low power, and has minimal impact on the analog and digital components used in the SoC design. The main objective of this technology development was to achieve high reliability and high data retention for automotive applications over the extended temperature range from -40deg to 150deg C. A wider range, from -55deg to 180deg C, has been achieved in manufacturing. Full cell, and memory module functionality, and data retention of over 30 years for the automotive temperature range have been achieved. Write cycling of over 200K writes (tested up to 180degC) over the design temperature range has also been achieved. The memory cell and the technology are optimized to operate at very low voltage and consume very low power. The applications requiring high data retention (>50 years), over the industrial or automotive temperature range can be well served with this technology. The data confirms that this technology is a highly manufacturability and a reliable technology for the embedded non-volatile memory applications. The data presented is based on a 0.35mum CMOS technology implementation