TSMC leads in making automotive embedded flash IP available in 0.18 micron

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has announced that its 0.18-mciron Embedded Flash IP has passed AEC-Q100 to qualify for making semiconductor chips for use in automotives. This will benefit microcontroller chip vendors to offer their 0.18 micron designed Flash MCUs for cars and other automotives.

0.18-micron automotive Embedded Flash IP macro is said to reduce silicon size 27 percent compared to an equivalent 0.25-micron Embedded Flash IP.

TSMC says the 0.18-micron automotive Embedded Flash process entered initial volume production last year. More than 38000 8-inch wafers or an equivalent number of 43 Million automotive MCU units have been shipped. TSMC also claims so far it had observed lower failure rate as compared to the previous generation 0.25 um in which 0.1ppm or less has been achieved.

"This new milestone results from a truly synergistic alignment between TSMC's strength in manufacturing consistency and our customers' expertise in test methodology. It underscores TSMC's relentless pursuit to meet the stringent automotive electronics requirements," said Kuotung Cheng, director of automotive program at TSMC