2006-08-08
Fujitsu Microelectronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

Fujitsu and Tokyo Institute of Technology Announce the Development of New Material for 256Mbit FeRAM Using 65-nanometer Technology

FeRAMs to Provide Very Low Power, High Speeds for New Mobile Electronic Products

Shanghai, August 8, 2006 — Fujitsu Microelectronics (Shanghai) Co.,Ltd. announced that the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo-Tech), Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd., and Fujitsu Limited have jointly developed a new material for a new generation of non-volatile Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FeRAM). The material is a modified composition of Bismuth Ferrite (BiFeO3 or BFO), which enables data storage capacity up to five times greater than the materials currently used in FeRAM production.

New FeRAMs can be produced with Fujitsu’s 65nm process technology using the BFO-based material in a device structure similar to the one used to build FeRAMs using 180nm technology. FeRAMs using this material can provide memory cell capacity up to 256Mbits.

The new FeRAMs will deliver the very low power consumption and high speeds required for new generations of personalized mobile electronic products such as IC cards, which must be small, easy to use, and provide very high security. The FeRAM technology is the most suitable non-volatile memory device for these kinds of devices and applications. Engineering sample shipments are planned for 2009.

Latest Step Forward in Fujitsu’s Success with Ferroelectric Memory

The new materials development continues Fujitsu’s long and successful history of FeRAM development. Fujitsu began mass production of FeRAM in 1999, and has shipped several hundred million chips of embedded and stand-alone FeRAM as of March 2006, including 1Mbit stand-alone FeRAM chips.

Details of the material and process were presented at the meeting of the Japan Society of Applied Physics (JSPS) in March 2006 in Tokyo, and also at the International Symposium on Integrated Ferroelectrics (ISIF) in April 2006 in Hawaii. For the joint research, Tokyo-Tech is supported in part by a grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) via the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).

About the Material

BFO is a ferroelectric material composed of Bismuth, Iron and Oxygen atoms with a perovskite structure. Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT or Pb(Zr,Ti)O3) is now used as a ferroelectric material but it has a lower-charge storage capability, so it also has limited scalability. The technology limits of PZT are expected to occur at the 130nm node, because as cell area decreases, higher polarization is required. This limit is expected to be reached in 2009.

An Mn-doped BFO thin-film capacitor was developed with the dual functions of decreasing leakage current and 180-220 µC/cm2 of switching charge, Qsw, which is equivalent to twice the remanent polarization, 2Pr. These results clearly indicate significant scalability potential for future technology nodes.

FeRAMs built using 65nm technology can be produced using Mn-doped BFO, with the similar device structure of the FeRAM being produced using 180nm technology. FeRAMs using this new material will also provide significant scalability, enabling large memory capacity up to 2014.

Applications

With further development of BFO, large-capacity 256Mbit FeRAMs can be realized that reach densities of two orders higher compared with the current capacity of 1Mbits. With this increased density, FeRAM applications will expand not only in the security applications, but also in new domains like "Quick-On-Computer," under which a computer can be immediately ready to use after turning on. FeRAMs also can be used in electronic paper devices, which let users browse and read a large volume of information traditionally written on plain paper.

Fujitsu will continue its research and development programs to provide FeRAMs for embedded LSI. Research on the BFO material and implementation technology needed for incorporating BFO capacitors in FeRAM also continues.

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About Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd.

Founded in 1968 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited, Fujitsu Laboratories Limited is one of the premier research centers in the world. With a global network of laboratories in Japan, China, the United States and Europe, the organization conducts a wide range of basic and applied research in the areas of Multimedia, Personal Systems, Networks, Peripherals, Advanced Materials and Electronic Devices.
For more information, please see: http://jp.fujitsu.com/group/labs/en/

About Fujitsu Limited

Fujitsu is a leading provider of customer-focused IT and communications solutions for the global marketplace. Pace-setting device technologies, highly reliable computing and communications products, and a worldwide corps of systems and services experts uniquely position Fujitsu to deliver comprehensive solutions that open up infinite possibilities for its customers' success. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of about 4.8 trillion yen (US$40.6 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006.
For more information, please see: http://www.fujitsu.com

About Fujitsu Microelectronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

Fujitsu Microelectronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. was established in October 2003 as Fujitsu's semiconductor business representative in China. Headquartered in Shanghai, it has branch offices in Beijing and Shenzhen to provide sales and service support to customers throughout China.
Fujitsu Microelectronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. offers an extensive range of products from microcontroller, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), application-specific standard product (ASSP), system-on-chip (SoC) to system memory, that can be supplied as product or complete solution. With technology resource centres and ASIC design support centres strategically located in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Singapore, as well as Heavy investments in design and engineering capabilities and application support resources, complemented by a regional network of design partners, suppliers and distributors, Fujitsu Microelectronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. can readily delivers innovative and value-added solutions and varied range of products to its target markets in China.
For more information, please see: http://cn.fujitsu.com/fmc/en/

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