SGS-Thomson Microelectronics NV has become the first non-Japanese chipmaker to adopt Ramtron International Corp’s ferroelectric random access memory chip design. SGS-Thomson wants the FRAM ferro-electric parts – which retain their state when the power is switched off, but as yet cannot be fabricated to great densities, so that capacities are low – for very low power applications and embedded memory products. Under the first phase of the collaboration, Ramtron will process SGS-Thomson base silicon wafers using proprietary ferro-electric technology to create 64K- bit CMOS non-volatile memory devices. Upon successful completion of the integration of Ramtron’s technology with SGS-Thomson’s fabrication processes, the plan is to move on to manufacturing and licensing. An expansion of the license between Ramtron and SGS-Thomson is planned as a third phase.
