October 30, 2022
produced a SoC in the format of a RISC-V based microcontroller, to illustrate the performance of the memory and the ability to integrate it into the customer’s designs. The business model will be based on the sale of intellectual property. A number of manufacturing service contractors have begun to test the technology
Webit Nano Company (Weebit Nano) Mahod Hasharon successfully completed a series of certification tests for a demonstration chip of an embedded system that includes its resistive memory, and entered into negotiations with chip manufacturing service providers (Foundries) in order to integrate its technology into the production lines. Following the announcement at the end of the week, the company’s stock on the stock exchange in Australia jumped about 19% and gave the company a market value of about 310 million dollars (American) – before it even sold a single chip.
Since its establishment in 2015, Wevit Nano has been engaged in the development of resistive non-volatile memory (NVM) of the ReRAM type in collaboration with the French Research Institute CEA-Leti. This memory technology is characterized by extremely low power consumption alongside resistance to high temperatures and harsh environmental conditions. One of its outstanding advantages lies in the fact that the memory cells can be miniaturized and produced even in geometries as small as 28 nm and 22 nm – in contrast to FLASH memories, which are difficult to produce in a geometry smaller than 40 nm. The company plans to demonstrate the result by producing the first series of 22 nm components before the end of 2022.
The company’s CEO, Kobi Hanoch, told Techtime that the tests were performed on a system-on-chip (SoC) that includes a 128Kb ReRAM memory, a RISC-V processor, communication interfaces, and internal control circuits that allow error correcting code to be implemented. A similar system was also produced in the company SkyWater the American following a cooperation agreement that was signed about six months ago. She recently completed the first round of production and the chips are in test chips with her. Hanoch: “The tests are conducted on LETI production series, and were done according to JEDEC regulations and all industrial certification protocols. We ran three rounds of production, from which 600 components were randomly selected that passed all the standard tests in the LETI laboratories, in our laboratories in Hod Hasharon and in the laboratories of subcontractors in Israel.”
The inspection that was completed last week was intended to help the company advance the negotiations it is conducting with a number of large production contractors. “We built a chip in the format of a microcontroller which allows us both to demonstrate the performance of the memory by running programs, and also illustrates to customers the ability to integrate the memory into their SoC chips, because at this stage our business model is based on selling intellectual property (IP) to chip developers” .
Why did you choose production with an old technology like 130 nm?
“The 130 nm technology is one of the two most common and popular technologies in the world. A lot of fabs make components at 130nm because not all manufacturers have to go down to the more advanced geometries, and pay more money for it. This phenomenon is particularly noticeable in areas such as mixed signal components (digital and analog), power control systems, battery chargers, sensors and more. The component produced in Skywater has a memory volume of 256Kb, so the certification we performed will provide a strong basis for Skywater’s certification as well.”
“Today’s market is ripe for ReRAM”
Although it operates in a market that does not yet exist, the demand for ReRAM memories is starting to become an important issue in the chip industry. The Yole research company estimates that the ReRAM market in embedded systems will grow from approximately $18 million in 2021, to approximately $168 million in 2024, and to $957 million in 2027. “The market today is ripe for ReRAM. A year ago we had to beg the pubs to talk to us. Today everyone is interested in the technology, including their customers who are starting to find out if their production suppliers have the ability to produce ReRAM memories. In our estimation, we are reaching the turning point in the market.”
Webit Nano currently employs approximately 50 employees (salaried employees and full-time subcontractors). The chairman of the company is Dedi Perlmutter, former senior vice president of Intel worldwide. In the quarterly report published at the end of the week, the company estimates that in the coming months it will assemble the first Skywater chips and complete the production of the first batch of ReRAM memories with a geometry of 22 nm. The company reported that the technology is in the process of being evaluated by a supplier of chip manufacturing service contractors. The company still has no sales, but its coffers include about 48 million Australian dollars.
Published in the categories: news, semiconductors, Israeli industry
Posted in tags: Weebit Nano, Weebit Nano
