Mature FinFET Processes Shift for Low Power Applications

sureCore announces the availability of its PowerMiser touted as an ultra-low, dynamic power memory compiler in 16nm.

Low power applications such as wearables, IoT, and medical devices are quickly adopting mature FinFET nodes. These FinFET nodes are said to offer a compelling combination of performance, density, and yield.

It allows significant power savings by reducing operating voltages while still meeting performance requirements. With 16nm technology being in production for over a decade, not only have the manufacturing issues been resolved by the foundries, but the tooling has also significantly depreciated.

As a result, this once heralded solution for the high-performance computing(HPC) and mobile sectors has now become cost competitive for developers of power-sensitive devices.

SoC developers with low-power solutions implemented in 28 or 22nm bulk or FDSOI nodes are now facing traditional commercial pressures to cut ASPs and deliver improved feature sets and power envelopes.

However, as outlined above, these FinFET nodes were engineered to deliver performance first and foremost hence much of the IP that is available for these nodes is similarly optimised.

sureCore announces the availability of its PowerMiser. The sureCore PowerMiser is touted as an ultra-low, dynamic power memory compiler in 16nm. To enable developers to more easily hit their challenging power budgets and successfully exploit the capabilities of these mature FinFET processes.

Paul Wells, sureCore’s CEO, explained, “FinFET was developed to address the increasingly poor leakage characteristics of bulk nodes. In addition, the key driver for the mobile sector was ever greater performance to deliver new features and a better user experience. The power consumption was not deemed a significant issue, as both the radio and the display were the dominant factors in battery life determination. This, in addition, to the relatively large form factor of a mobile phone meant that the batteries had capacities in excess of 3-4000mAh. However, designers of power sensitive applications such as wearables and medical devices with much more constrained form factors and hence smaller batteries need a range of power optimised IP that can exploit the power advantages of FinFET whilst being much less concerned about performance. This has meant a demand for memory solutions that are specifically tailored to deliver much reduced power consumption. By providing the PowerMiser SRAM IP, sureCore is enabling the shift to mature FinFET processes for low power applications and is thus helping to provide clear differentiation for such products based on both cost and battery life. By doing so, the all-important competitive advantage over rivals may be realised.”