Non-volatile memories in the foundry business

Abstract

The role of non-volatile memory (NVM) technologies in the business of silicon foundries is reviewed. Solutions that comply with the NVM requests of diverse customers in today's semiconductor market are analyzed both from technical and business viewpoints. The strategy of NVM internal development in a foundry, the availability of NVM for special technology platforms, and the compromise between internal and external memory intellectual property (IP) are discussed using TowerJazz memory solutions as examples.