Production-Ready ESF4 Platform Launches
Silicon Storage Technology (SST), a Microchip Technology subsidiary, and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) released their embedded SuperFlash Gen 4 (ESF4) on UMC’s 28HPC+ process. The solution targets automotive controllers, fully qualified to AEC-Q100 Grade 1 standards. It supports extreme temperatures from -40°C to +150°C junction, enabling high-reliability applications.
Superior Performance and Reliability Specs
Key metrics include read access time under 12.5 nanoseconds, over 100,000 endurance cycles, and data retention exceeding 10 years at 125°C. Qualification tests on a 32Mb macro showed zero bit failures without ECC. The platform requires only 1-bit ECC, achieving peak yields of 100%.
Cost-Effective Migration Path
Designers migrating from 40nm ESF3 gain higher integration density and performance without reliability trade-offs. SST and UMC reduced masking steps versus competitors’ 28nm HKMG eFlash, lowering costs. Mark Reiten of Microchip highlighted faster time-to-market for evolving automotive needs.
