Australia's largest stock trading and investment forum Australia's #1 stock forum

WBT

Click for more information

0.87%

$2.28 weebit nano ltd

I hope you’re right as it’s easily conceivable to take it as...

First 311 Last

Share
Profile

Follow
Merlin88

1,389 Posts.

1241

31/01/23

11:15

Post #: 65971089
Share
Originally posted by bluebrando: ↑

Hmmm ... Is GlobalFoundries the Tier 1 fab that taped out our 22nm chip given the following info I came across on another chat forum?
Foundries Prepare For Battle At 22nm ...

But choosing one 22nm technology from a given foundry may be far different than 22nm at a different foundry. There are three different versions of 22nm being rolled out by different foundries:
TSMC and UMC are developing a 22nm planar bulk CMOS process.
GlobalFoundries is gearing up a 22nm planar FD-SOItechnology.
Intel is pushing a low-power 22nm finFET technology.

From the WBT announcement of 3rd Jan:

"Weebit Nano Limited(ASX:WBT,Weebitorthe Company), a leading developer of next-generation memory technologies for the global semiconductor industry, has taped-out (released to manufacturing) demonstration chips integrating its embedded Resistive Random-Access Memory (ReRAM) module in an advanced 22nm FD-SOI (fully depleted silicon on insulator) process technology."

https://semiengineering.com/foundries-prepare-for-battle-at-22nm/

Excerpt from the article of November 2018:

FD-SOI
GlobalFoundries was the first player to enter the 22nm race. Three years ago the company introduced a 22nm FD-SOI technology. For some time, Samsung has offered 28nm FD-SOI with an 18nm version in the works.

In addition, GlobalFoundries is developing a 12nm planar version of FD-SOI, which is expected to appear in 2022. Generally, 22nm or 18nm FD-SOI doesn’t compete with 16nm/14nm finFETs, and they serve different markets with little overlap.

FD-SOI uses a specialized SOI wafer, which integrates a thin insulating layer (20 to 25nm thick) in the substrate. This layer isolates the transistor from the substrate, thereby blocking the leakage in the device.

FD-SOI also is based on a planar, fully depleted architecture. “This essentially eliminates the random dopant fluctuation, providing superior mismatch and electrostatics to improve sub-threshold slope,” GlobalFoundries’ Schaeffer said.

GlobalFoundries’ 22nm FD-SOI technology, called 22FDX, incorporates high-k/metal-gate with silicon-germanium in the channel. It provides 30% higher performance and 45% lower power compared to 28nm. It was production-qualified in early 2017.

Recently, GlobalFoundries added more capabilities to the mix. “Sub-6GHz RF, mmWave, ultra-low leakage and ultra-low power extensions have all been qualified,” Schaeffer said.

What makes FD-SOI attractive are two features—low-power and body bias. It enables drive currents of 910μA/μm (856μA/μm) at 0.8 volts, with voltage operations down to 0.4 volts.

“Body bias is the ability to fully control the threshold voltage (Vth) of the transistors dynamically by polarizing the back gate of the transistor. Vth—which was a parameter determinable only by process through complex doping techniques—is now programmable dynamically through software,” said Manuel Sellier, product marketing manager at Soitec. “Designers can use this feature to dynamically manage the leakage in their circuit, and also to compensate static (process) and dynamic variations (temperature, voltage, and aging) efficiently. The result is a 4X to 7X energy efficiency gain at ultra-low power.”

FD-SOI also supports forward body biasing. When polarization of the substrate is positive, the transistor can be switched faster, according to STMicroelectronics.

FD-SOI, however, has three drawbacks—cost, ecosystem and adoption. For years, FD-SOI has had limited adoption. Intel, TSMC, UMC and others have never adopted FD-SOI, saying bulk CMOS enables high-performance devices at better costs. For example, an SOI wafer sells from $370 to $400 each, compared to $100 to $120 for a bulk CMOS wafer.

But FD-SOI does have a lower mask count, which compensates for the wafer cost. FD-SOI has 22 to 24 mask steps, while a comparable bulk CMOS process has 27 to 29 mask steps, according to IBS.

FD-SOI is closing the gap, too. “We are now looking at what we view as the limit of bulk CMOS,” IBS’ Jones said. “Transistor costs for 22nm FD-SOI are within 5% of the transistor costs for 22nm HKMG (high-k/metal-gate). 22nm FD SOI gives 30% to 50% lower power consumption compared to 22nm HKMG, which is important for wearable and IoT devices.”

The FD-SOI community, however, lags in terms of the EDA/IP ecosystem. “The IP ecosystem for 22nm FD-SOI is strengthening, but 22nm HKMG bulk CMOS has a broader IP ecosystem,” Jones said.

The tide is turning. Cadence, Mentor and Synopsys have been certified for various EDA tools for GlobalFoundries’ FD-SOI technology.

“There are some unique capabilities for RF, for example, with integrated FD-SOI, which are very hard to equal in other ways,” said Wally Rhines, president and CEO of Mentor.

FD-SOI has other advantages. “While the finFET gives you near zero leakage, you still have dynamic power. One of the advantages of FD-SOI is dynamic power. If you can reduce the voltage from one volt down to 0.6, that’s a 65% reduction in power. FD-SOI has some advantages in being able to dynamically alter the power versus the performance balance,” Rhines said.

Expand

I hope you’re right as it’s easily conceivable to take it as validation that they rate wbt’s tech as better than Adesto’s/Dialog’s/Renesas’s CBRam product that was licensed to GF back in 2020. https://embeddedcomputing.com/technology/storage/dialog-semi-globalfoundries-reach-agreement-to-license-cbram-technology
And just tracking the pathway of Adesto, imo it’s strikingly similar to WBT’s. Spun out of technology developed by Arizona State University in 2006, a French fab, Altis, picked it up and developed it further in partnership. From around 2017 customers started picking it up, they easily shifted over a million chips before Dialog took them over in 2020 who were then bought out by Renasas who now claim CBRam as their own.
Looking at some names from early Adesto - co founder and later marketing vp Ishai Naveh, business manager Ed Mckernan, Gideon Intrater later on, these guys have been there done that from concept through to buy out. https://www.eetimes.com/adesto-ready-to-ramp-cbram-with-altis/
Imo the most likely scenario for WBT (that it will be swallowed up) eventually only for much more than the 500m Dialog paid.
WBT Price at posting: $4.74 Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
13 Upvote

1 Great analysis

Reply

Top Stories

SXG

From the Floor question: "Could gold be manufactured in a lab like diamonds?"

GT1

Green Technology hands the helm to Henry

BRX

Belararox delineates another porphyry in Argentina at Tambo South

EMD

Emyria's Empax Centre chosen for mental health clinical trial

CBL

Drove autonomous wheelchair gets TGA approval

There are more pages in this discussion • 2,645 more messages in this thread...

First 311 Last

Add WBT (ASX) to my watchlist

(20min delay)
Last $2.28		Change -0.020(0.87%)		Mkt cap ! $426.6M

Open	High	Low	Value	Volume
$2.33	$2.33	$2.26	$244.5K	107.1K

Buyers (Bids)

No.	Vol.	Price($)
14	6207	$2.27

Sellers (Offers)

Price($)	Vol.	No.
$2.28	7361	7

View Market Depth

No.	Vol.	Price($)
13	6206	2.270
20	61164	2.260
8	213874	2.250
15	54596	2.240
11	43525	2.230

Price($)	Vol.	No.
2.280	7361	7
2.290	17798	17
2.300	13933	8
2.310	8915	5
2.330	13260	4

Last trade - 12.03pm 20/06/2024 (20 minute delay)

WBT (ASX) Chart

SPONSORED BY