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Hsinchu, Taiwan (Dec. 01, 2010)- eMemory, the leading embedded non-volatile memory developer, announces its success in launching automotive grade NeoFlash, the most reliable, robust, secured and cost-saving embedded flash solution. Automotive grade NeoFlash is another significant technology breakthrough after the successful launch of eMemory’s automotive grade NeoBit OTP earlier this year. In addition to the original NeoFlash used in consumer electronics, such as Touch Panel, MCU and RFID, the next-generation and upgraded NeoFlash with completed yield and electricity tests in all temperature environment is qualified as an automotive grade NeoFlash. Automotive grade NeoFlash meets the strict requirement of 150℃/1000hrs data retention, and can be operated with 1.1 fold of the highest voltage and at 125℃/1000hrs with zero failure rate, which are the quality examination standards of Automotive Electronics Council (AEC-Q100 Grade 1). NeoFlash offers automotive IC customers unrivalled advantages–high performance and reliable embedded flash solutions at low cost.

As the electronic design in automotive domain is fast-growing, automotive IC is thus being developed with more diverse and advanced design targets. Automotive grade NeoFlash is a crucial technology required in automotive IC – it is a small sized, multi-functional embedded flash that can be built with smaller macro and thus increase circuit design space for creating more functions. Because NeoFlash’s digital signal is being transmitted between circuit blocks of much lower power and shorter distance, the signal transmission bandwidth and speed are greatly increased, and the power consumption is significantly reduced. Compared to plug-type flash memory used in the automotive IC macros in the past, the automotive grade NeoFlash offers unrivalled advantages - logic-based, smaller size, low-power, high reliability and security, as well as major reductions in cost and development time.

NeoFlash can also offer supreme benefits of high safety, easy inventory management and low processing cost. As NeoFlash being packaged with ICs, the important and confidential information stored inside can be protected from any fraudulent use. In the meantime, customers can enjoy an easier inventory control, as NeoFlash is being a part of the IC, not individually existing, so there is no concern over any delay in marketing, due to the lack of embedded Flash stock. NeoFlash’s most renowned and popular attribute is that it can significantly reduce the manufacturing cost, because it is fully compatible with the logic process and takes only 2-3 uncritical additional mask layers, whereas traditional embedded flash requires 8-9 mask layers in the manufacturing process. Such unprecedented attribute of embedded flash can significantly simplify the processing procedures and reduce greatly the production cycle time. These are extremely important advantages when it comes to the capacity shortage, and thus it ensures valuable time-to-market for customers.

eMemory’s president, Dr. Rick Shen, stated that “eMemory is continuously devoted to developing most advanced embedded NVM IP solutions with supreme quality and high performance reliability. Automotive grade NeoFlash, as a new generation of embedded flash solution tapping into automotive IC market, is eMemory’s big step forward in its ability to innovate and acquire competitive edge. We also believe that our technology and products can add values to our automotive IC customers by satisfying their variable needs for high performance and absolutely reliable embedded flash solutions.”

Since its debut with immediate notice by the US, European and Japanese IDM customers, NeoFlash has won the customers’ high recognition for its great reliability and stability. Currently NeoFlash 0.18um CMOS process node has passed reliability test, and the 0.35um, 0.25um and 0.13um node is estimated to pass reliability test and put into mass-production in 2011.