Customers looking for a solution, such as providing high-capacity controller firmware that needs over-the-air (OTA) update flexibility, can benefit from SST’s SuperFlash ESF4 solution on UMC’s 28HPC+ AG1 platform.
Silicon Storage Technology (SST), a subsidiary of Microchip Technology and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), announced that they completed full qualification and has released to production of SST’s embedded SuperFlash Gen 4 (ESF4) with full automotive grade 1 (AG1) capability on UMC’s 28HPC+ foundry process platform, in response to the automotive industry’s constant demands for increasingly performant vehicle controllers.
In close collaboration with UMC, SST developed SuperFlash ESF4 to provide enhanced embedded non-volatile memory (eNVM) performance and demonstrated reliability for automotive controllers while also drastically lowering the number of extra masking steps compared to other foundries’ 28nm High-k/Metal-Gate Stack (HKMG) eFlash offerings, giving customers cost advantages and increased manufacturing efficiency.
In order to scale to the next process node, customers who are currently manufacturing automotive controller products using foundry 40nm ESF3 AG1 platforms are encouraged to explore the UMC 28nm ESF4 AG1 platform.
Key SuperFlash performance and reliability metrics for UMC’s 28HPC+ ESF4 AG1 platform include:
- Automotive Electronics Council (AEC) Q-100 Grade 1 qualified for operating temperatures of -40°C to +150°C (Tj)
- Read access time < 12.5ns
- 100K+ endurance cycles
- Data retention of > 10 years @ 125°C
- Only 1-bit ECC required
- Qualification of 32Mb macro at auto grade 1 conditions:
- Zero bit failures (no ECC applied)
- Peak yield reached 100%
The transportation industry requires innovative approaches for a growing range of vehicle applications, which is why automotive controller shipment volumes keep rising quickly year after year.
To effectively serve this growing market, the controller must have a highly reliable and effective eNVM for code and data storage.
Customers looking for a solution, such as providing high-capacity controller firmware that needs over-the-air (OTA) update flexibility, can benefit from SST’s ESF4 solution on UMC’s 28HPC+ AG1 platform.
Leadership Comments
“As automotive requirements accelerate, developers need solutions that drive efficiency, speed up time to market and satisfy stringent industry standards. To meet these needs, UMC and SST have delivered a robust 28nm AG1 solution which is now ready for the production of customer designs,” said Mark Reiten, Vice President of Microchip’s licensing business unit. “UMC has been a valuable partner for SST and SuperFlash innovation, and the companies continue to jointly address the rapidly evolving market requirements and deliver technically and economically advanced offerings.”
“As the automotive industry rapidly advances toward more connected, autonomous, and shared vehicles, the demand for highly reliable data storage and high-capacity data updates continues to grow. This has driven customer demand for scaling SuperFlash to the 28nm process,” said Steven Hsu, Vice President of Technology Development at UMC. “Through our close collaboration with SST, we have successfully launched the ESF4 solution, which has been fully integrated into the widely adopted 28HPC+ platform. This enables our customers to leverage the extensive models and IP available in our portfolio to address key markets while simultaneously scaling to a more advanced process node.”
Pricing and Availability
Customers interested in SST’s SuperFlash technology should access the SST website or contact a regional SST sales executive for details.
Interested in UMC’s Technology And Offerings, CLICK HERE.






