The next-generation memory market for embedded applications is becoming more crowded as another technology emerges in the arena—embedded phase-change memory.
Phase-change memory is not new and has been in the works for decades. But the technology has taken longer to commercialize amid a number of technical and cost challenges. Phase-change memory, a nonvolatile memory type that stores data... » read more
Embedded nonvolatile flash memory has played a key role in chips for years, but the technology is beginning to face some scaling and cost roadblocks and it’s not clear what comes next.
Embedded flash is used in several markets, such as automotive, consumer and industrial. But the automotive sector appears to be the most concerned about the future of the technology. Typically, a car incorpo... » read more
Momentum is building for a new class of ferroelectric memories that could alter the next-generation memory landscape.
Generally, ferroelectrics are associated with a memory type called ferroelectric RAMs (FRAMs). Rolled out by several vendors in the late 1990s, FRAMs are low-power, nonvolatile devices, but they are also limited to niche applications and unable to scale beyond 130nm.
While... » read more
Foundries are ramping up their efforts in automotive chip production in preparation for a surge in semiconductors used in assisted and autonomous driving.
All of the major foundry vendors are scrambling to assemble the pieces and expand their process portfolios for automotive customers. The foundries are seeing a growing demand from automotive IC customers amid the push toward advanced drive... » read more
The embedded memory market is beginning to heat up, fueled by a new wave of microcontrollers (MCUs) and related chips that will likely require new and more capable nonvolatile memory types.
The industry is moving on several different fronts in the embedded memory landscape. On one front, traditional solutions are advancing. On another front, several vendors are positioning the next-generatio... » read more
There are two things in life that have always been true: One is that you can never be too rich, and second—at least since the dawn of the technological age—you can never have too much memory. But the memory truism is changing with the onset of the [getkc id="76" comment="Internet of Things"].
The next generation of memory for the IoT must meet a different set of metrics – smaller, smar... » read more
Hydrogen fuel cells will play a role in the transportation ecosystem of the future, but how large a role hinges on infrastructure and application-specific demand.
Moving large amounts of data around a system is no longer the path to success. It is too slow and consumes too much power. It is time to flip the equation.