In SoC design, it is not an easy task to arrange coexisting components, especially non-volatile memories, because there is a potential cost increase due to complexity requirements. The trick is to integrate the various components while ensuring that the final IC still provides a cost-effective alternative.
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The increasing number of automotive electronic components in modern automobiles has challenged the space and weight of automobiles. Moreover, in the process of automotive electronics integration, space limitations remain a major concern when weight issues are improved by rationalizing wire harnesses.
Therefore, for engineers who are concerned about saving space, the level of potential semiconductor technology integration has never been more important. In any case, the replacement of components by integrated circuits, the latest technology helps to make the number of components more reasonable, and increasing the "smart" nature of the IC can further improve the efficiency of the integration.
The key to achieving this high level of integration is mixed-signal semiconductor technology. This technology can be used to develop analog applications: combining analog and digital components and some high voltage transistors into a single chip. Obviously, this ability to reduce the number of components on the application panel to a single packaged device offers the potential to save a lot of space.
If today's semiconductor technology can also provide the possibility to embed a microcontroller and non-volatile memory, integrated components can provide engineers with a fast and local control and application management approach. Sensor interface solutions and electromechanical actuator solutions for motor drives are becoming increasingly popular in modern automobiles. This process opens up the possibility of application of system-on-chip components and devices such as smart sensor interfaces.
Better cost
As you can imagine, it's not easy to arrange for various coexisting components, especially to generate the necessary NVM. Because of the complexity requirements, there is a potential cost increase. The trick is therefore to integrate the various components while ensuring that the final IC still provides a productive alternative.
To do this, the most important thing is to look at the application structure and estimate the specifications of each function block. For example, in most applications, the complex technology of NVM may help reduce the area of ​​the entire chip by a third. The advantages are even more apparent for applications such as 16 or 32 flash and 8 kB of electrically erasable read only memory (EEPROM).
In particular, it should be emphasized that NVM components in the design cannot be mixed with other engine control units (ECUs) or BCU body control units (BCUs). In this way, process costs can be reduced, two-thirds of the component area does not require a complex NVM process, and the cost of a costly lithography mask required for semiconductor fabrication is also minimized. .
Another alternative to integrating the two processes on the same chip is to integrate the two separate chips in two different semiconductor processes. For example, combining two dies obtained from different production lines into the same plastic package allows the capabilities of existing manufacturing processes to be utilized. The question here is: In the assembly process used, is it a stacking or a side-by-side process? Because both processes have their own advantages and disadvantages.
The stack die process is stable, but there are also disadvantages caused by consumer site errors: it is difficult to analyze a faulty device because a die can mask the problem and hinder the analysis of the problem. On the other hand, the use of side-by-side technology requires the positioning of custom pads to effectively bond between the two chips. The preferred solution for most applications requires a standard microcontroller with embedded flash, and this internally bound application has significant practical limitations.
This is what has been mentioned before, AMI Semiconductor has developed its own solution for embedded flash memory, known as HiMOS. This technique is based on a simplified approach that adds only a few steps to the fabrication of a basic semiconductor process. As the number of additional fabrication steps is reduced, the HiMOS process reduces the cost of embedded non-volatile memory to be integrated into a single chip.
The integration of HiMO NVM technology with the company's I3T80 smart power technology has enabled the ability to deliver 0.35 μm CMOS mixed signals and 80V high voltage in a single chip, enabling the development of fully integrated SoC solutions with significant cost and space savings. And performance improvements. In particular, the inclusion of a flash memory process requires only three mask layers to be added to the I3T80 base process mask set. For a single chip of embedded flash memory, it only accounts for one-third of the total chip size; the smaller the number of mask layers, the lower the cell density of the HiMOS solution, which reduces the net cost of the entire replacement technology by 15%.
The road to the future
Finally, in addition to saving space, a greater advantage of high-voltage-capable embedded flash technology is the long-term supply of components. For example, in automotive and industrial applications, the product has a life cycle of 10 years or more. Embedding flash into an IC can prevent the risk of a technical end of life, and adopting a new process due to the phasing out of the current process requires periodic verification of the design, a problem often encountered with discrete NVM or flash microcontrollers. .
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