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To: NightOwl who wrote (14410)	8/13/2009 7:30:56 AM
From: NightOwl	of 14464

Look out girls... Better hide your brains... Eli's a' comin': eetimes.com Once again... The Zombies have gathered for another of their ever popular Pitty Parties. Mayhaps someone should sit these people down and explain to them that "demand for bits" is not the equivalent of "demand for ever lower densities." The first is generated by customers. But the second is just a delusion concocted from the desire of insane IC makers to be the last *Living-Dead Fab* standing. The fact that L'Intel and its army of demon EEs from Racoon City have infected the world with the delusion that the two concepts are equivalent is not surprising. After all... "self-delusion" is what people do. But the fact that this particular sickness is strong enough to force gabillions down the rat hole of wasted R&D is simply depressing. This product is semi-moronic and should be shoved up some CEO's butt: eetimes.com Perhaps one of our great American salesmen will wake up one day and discover that real money can be made by selling a fab Zombie on the idea that commodity consumer devices are small enough... and the words: "demand for bits" can often mean simply a "demand for more better bits" instead of automatically reaching for the gabillion dollar die squeezer. 0\|0

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To: NightOwl who wrote (14412)	8/20/2009 3:46:03 PM
From: NightOwl	of 14464

Well... I have tried to consider everything that's been said at or about the recent Undead FLASH Summit. I think the most telling comments came from Sun, followed closely by Sandisk's elevated paranoia. But this tid bit, from a hardware agnostic company currently making its living by writing software workarounds to offset the ever increasing deficiencies of high density FLASH, is a very helpful piece of the puzzle: "On the topic of barriers to adoption, SSDs were declared still too expensive for mass market appeal. Also, many of the benefits promised by SSDs are being undone by bottlenecks in the OS (and file system!). As a result, it was postulated that SSDs will cannibalize 15k RPM HDDs, where customers are willing to pay a premium for speed, rather than replacing HDDs as a whole, at least in the short term. In the emerging technologies track, 3-D NAND was promoted by both Micron and SanDisk, in part because they are able to leverage the technology used to build DRAM for manufacturing 3-D NAND, making it easier and cheaper to produce. It was particularly interesting to hear SanDisk say that 4 bit per cell will have limited application in the future, especially since it had been speculated that the 4 b/c technology was a key reason for them to acquire M-Systems. PCM and FeRAM were also discussed as next generation flash technologies. Overall, we were impressed by the level of participation from across the industry and we’re already looking forward to next year’s Summit!" blog.datalight.com Sandisk is working with Toshiba on a "3-D NAND" chip. I didn't know MU was also behind such IP. In fact I have been assuming that this "3-D NAND" was a reference to some sort of chip stacking IP... rather than an 1T0C "X"FET of some kind. But now with all the recent development noise out of Japan on their ferroelectric "Fe-NAND" device... and from SRC with their support for a "FeDRAM" design, the above suggestion that the "3-D NAND" in question leverages DRAM manufacturing processes is a strong clue that, at the very least, Toshiba, MU, and Sandisk are all in development with FeFET IP for all or part of the commodity FLASH market. The timing of this development work, the SRC and Tokyo U announcements, together with the woeful outlook for 3 and 4 bit cell FLASH performance... all makes it appear very likely that FeFET products will begin to hit the streets in 2012. If true we will begin to see manufacturers with demonstration chips perhaps as early as 2010 or even this year's IEDM if the Japanese research labs are still ahead of the game. RMTR will of course have no part of that high volume commodity market, but that's a two-edged sword in that it will soon become as competitive and unprofitable as the FLASH market is now. But it does suggest that RMTR may get a major boost for its ambitions in the sub-Gb embedded NV memory/logic space. 0\|0

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To: NightOwl who wrote (14413)	8/22/2009 4:33:08 PM
From: NightOwl	of 14464

Well I believe I have found a reference to the type of "3D NAND" device that Toshiba and Sandisk are working on. Its some sort of "verticle" structure in which the charge traps for storage are mounted within a verticle channel, see p.21: lsi.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp What isn't clear from the slides above is why it would be cheaper than FeNAND... it may be because it gets multiple bits within each verticle channel... or why it won't suffer from NAND's scaling difficulties around the 20-10nm process nodes. There is a criptic reference to "relaxed" design rules which leads me to think they simply plan on avoiding true sub 20nm process nodes by stacking multiple bits/charge traps. But why that structure would allow greater endurance or reliability than standard NAND I don't know. In any case one thing is clear. It would be insanely difficult to use their design for true L1, embedded memory. I suspect it only makes sense at all because it is cheap and provides "good enough" performance for the broadest base of consumer driven apps. Or at least Toshiba/Sandisk think the performance will be "good enough" to do so. That leaves high end storage class devices and low power mobile/embedded applications for other IP to compete for. 0\|0

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To: NightOwl who wrote (14416)	8/22/2009 5:03:03 PM
From: NightOwl	of 14464

The Toshiba/Sandisk vertical 3D-NAND was introduced at the 2007 VLSI: Bit Cost Scalable Technology with Punch and Plug Process for Ultra High Density Flash Memory Abstract We propose Bit-Cost Scalable (BiCS) technology which realizes a multi-stacked memory array with a few constant critical lithography steps regardless of number of stacked layer to keep a continuous reduction of bit cost. In this technology, whole stack of electrode plate is punched through and plugged by another electrode material. SONOS type flash technology is successfully applied to achieve BiCS flash memory. Its cell array concept, fabrication process and the characteristics of key features are presented. vlsisymposium.org They must be planning on stacking a heck of a lot of bit-layers and using algorithms to reduce the endurance problems of SONOS IP and the number of masks needed to produce it must be more than twice that required for either F-RAM, FeDRAM or FeNAND which all much simpler 2D designs. It will be a comparative power hog too I imagine. Anyway they are probably at least 2 years away from production if they indeed decide to produce it. 0\|0

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From: Peace	9/28/2009 10:10:11 AM
	of 14464

How much of this is going to trickle down to Ramtron? online.wsj.com Stimulus Funds Speed Transformation Toward 'Smart Grid' High-Tech Firms Seek Out Utilities as They Upgrade By REBECCA SMITH and BEN WORTHEN After struggling to sell cutting-edge products to utilities, technology companies are sensing better times ahead with the influx of $4.5 billion in federal stimulus funds for so-called smart-grid projects. The federal grants are expected to speed transformation of the power grid from a largely electromechanical system into a digital network that gives utilities more efficient ways to send electricity to customers. That could help cut pollution and electric bills. Smart meters, one component of a smart grid, allow utilities to monitor usage almost in real time, letting them charge variable prices based on demand, for example. Corporate and residential customers would acquire tools to manage their energy use. Residential customers could be given an in-home meter to see how much power they are using and what it is costing them. Utilities often take years to make technological change, in part because they must justify large expenditures to utility commissions to recoup costs through rates. Utilities also fear that new equipment could degrade transmission reliability if it doesn't perform flawlessly. But now, utilities are being encouraged by state utility regulators to seek the federal stimulus funds. California regulators this month voted to expedite their review of smart-grid proposals to fit the U.S. Department of Energy's timetable for smart-grid grants. That has opened up a sizeable sales opportunity for a host of tech companies, ranging from giant Cisco Systems Inc. to closely held Tendril Networks Inc. Some tech companies are beefing up staffs to pursue smart-grid projects, while others are helping utilities apply for the grants, the first of which could be doled out as early as next month. Read MoreAppliances Can Shift to Energy-Saver Modes on Cue . North American utilities are expected to spend $10.75 billion on computer hardware, software and services related to the smart grid this year, up from $7.56 billion in 2008, according to research company IDC Energy Insights. The smart-grid market "may be bigger than the whole Internet," said John Chambers, chief executive of networking giant Cisco. Federal assistance "will accelerate the progress of projects [for many utilities] from pilots to full-scaled deployments," said Todd Arnold, senior vice president at Duke Energy Corp. The Charlotte, N.C., company started installing advanced meters in Ohio last year as part of the utility's five-year, $1 billion smart-grid initiative. Duke in August requested $200 million in federal funds to cover a quarter of the cost of installing two million advanced meters in Ohio and Indiana. The meters transmit readings wirelessly to utilities and customers and allow the creation of data portals to monitor energy use. Ambient Corp. of Newton, Mass., started working with Duke in 2005, suggesting ways the utility might use Ambient's communications modules to scoop up data from smart meters to boost grid intelligence. But activity picked up only recently. Ambient last month wrote a letter to the DOE supporting Duke's smart-grid application and this month inked a deal to sell large numbers of modules to the utility, said John Joyce, Ambient's president. The influx of stimulus dollars "is clearly significant for a firm like Ambient" because it stimulates investment in general and "will make us bigger" as utilities add projects, he said. Ambient had 2008 sales of $15 million but declined to give the value of its deal with Duke. Competition for the stimulus grants has been fierce. The DOE last month received roughly 570 applications from utilities requesting as much as $14.6 billion in smart-grid funds -- more than three times the amount available. Grants can be as much as $200 million per project and represent as much as half of a project's cost. Tendril Networks helped a dozen utilities in eight states prepare stimulus applications by offering the services of its lawyers, grant writers and technical advisers. The Boulder, Colo., company, whose products help consumers control their energy use, advised utilities on cost estimates and technology-integration issues. Tendril President Tim Enwall said he has identified two dozen utilities as potential customers if they win the federal grants. The grants could mean $900 million in sales, with about 20 firms like his competing for the business, he said. The grants represent the largest sales opportunity his company has had since it decided to pursue utility sales two years ago and could accelerate the date at which Tendril seeks an initial public offering of stock, he said. The company declines to disclose Tendril's sales or projections. PG&E Corp., meanwhile, has solicited Cisco and International Business Machines Corp. to design displays and manage data for a project to give 75,000 of its 570,000 business customers digital readouts to help them better manage energy use. The San Francisco-based utility is seeking $42.5 million in stimulus funds as part of the $85 million project. Microsoft Corp. in July unveiled software that connects to utilities' systems and allows customers to monitor how much energy they are using. The Redmond, Wash., company also is developing products that will help utilities better manage information, said Troy Batterberry, a product manager in the company's 20-person energy group. And Cisco in June created a unit to focus on smart-grid technology, complete with a dedicated sales force. Mr. Chambers, the CEO, said the team developing smart-grid products has "almost an unlimited budget." The San Jose, Calif., company, which has $36.1 billion in annual revenue, expects to generate at least a $1 billion a year of smart-grid related sales by 2014.

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From: Stefan	10/6/2009 9:23:39 AM
	of 14464

RFID is here... Ramtron Announces MaxArias(TM) RF-enabled Wireless MemoryLast update: 10/6/2009 8:30:02 AMNew device first in a family of EPC Gen-2, high-density memory transponder ICs COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Oct 06, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Ramtron International Corporation (RMTR), the leading developer and supplier of nonvolatile ferroelectric random access memory (F-RAM) and integrated semiconductor products, today announced that it has begun beta sampling its first MaxArias(TM) wireless memory product to customers across several industries. Ramtron's MaxArias wireless memory combines the low power, high speed, and high endurance features of Ramtron's nonvolatile F-RAM memory technology with wireless access to enable innovative data collection capabilities for a broad range of applications. Ramtron's first family of wireless memory devices, named the MaxArias WM710xx product line, features F-RAM memory with passive UHF EPCglobal Class-1 Generation-2 wireless access in a transponder IC with 4-, 8-, and 16-Kilobit user memory densities. The WM710xx family is ideal for applications spanning many industries including aircraft/industrial manufacturing, inventory control, maintenance tracking, building security, electronic toll collection, pharmaceutical tracking, and product authentication, among others. Production of WM710xx family is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2010. "With our MaxArias line, Ramtron is creating a new category of wireless memory products that bring new data collection capabilities to a host of applications," remarked Dan Secrest, Ramtron's senior marketing manager. "Our MaxArias products will allow system integrators and users to reliably capture, transmit, and store more information using our RF-enabled devices. By employing the global EPC Gen-2 RFID protocol, coupled with our industry standard nonvolatile F-RAM, MaxArias can enhance efficiency in today's fast-paced, global supply chains." "Beta sampling of Ramtron's MaxArias family of wireless solutions is a critical step toward enlarging Ramtron's addressable market and strengthening our F-RAM leadership," said Bill Staunton, Ramtron's chief executive officer. "Our strategy is to build on our base of F-RAM memory business by leveraging low power F-RAM features to exploit emerging market opportunities and further differentiate F-RAM from other memory solutions, while continuing our aggressive pace of new product development. Initially, we plan to focus on the RFID market, specifically high-value asset tracking and wireless metering, among others." About MaxArias Wireless Memory Solutions Ramtron's first family of MaxArias wireless memory combines up to 16-Kilobits of high-performance, nonvolatile F-RAM memory with EPCglobal Class-1 Generation-2 UHF Air Interface Protocol Standard, operating at 860MHz -- 960MHz. When combined with an optimized antenna design, the MaxArias WM710xx product family powers up with energy harvested directly from the RF field. As specified in the Gen-2 standard, the MaxArias chip receives and processes commands transmitted by the RFID reader. Product Features and Benefits The first MaxArias wireless memory devices -- WM71004, WM71008, and WM71016 -- are organized as 256/512/1024 x 16 bits, respectively. The devices have virtually unlimited read/write endurance of 1E14 (100-trillion) writes and 20-year data retention. MaxArias wireless memory offers fully symmetrical operation for reads and writes in terms of range, sustained memory access bandwidth, and reliability -- all at the maximum data rates allowed by the Gen-2 standard. Ramtron's MaxArias wireless memory offers unique benefits over traditional EEPROM-based RF-enabled ICs: -- Greater RF sensitivity. The WM710xx write operations are zero power, resulting in no power or speed penalty for executing writes. -- Improved range. The low power F-RAM-enabled MaxArias wireless memory provides symmetrical wireless reads/writes at 10 meters or more. -- Superior write-speed. With speeds up to 6x faster than EEPROM, MaxArias wireless memory enables full memory block-write operations, allowing more data to be stored faster without the required "soak time" of EEPROM-based devices. -- Block-write integrity. Data integrity is ensured with Ramtron's SureWrite(TM) feature that prevents data corruption during full block-writes. -- Magnetic field and gamma radiation tolerant. Due to F-RAM's invulnerability to magnetic fields and high tolerance to gamma radiation, the MaxArias wireless memory is an ideal choice for applications that are subject to magnetic or irradiating fields. The WM710xx MaxArias wireless memory operates over the industrial temperature range (-40degC to +85degC). The WM710xx will be offered in several configurations: a standard "green" RoHS-compatible 6-pin UDFN package, bumped wafer, bare dice, or as a fully tested ISO-18000-6C compliant transponder antenna inlay. For more information about MaxArias wireless memory, a white paper and datasheets are available at . For a 300-dpi product photo, visit (see MaxArias Wireless Memory). About Ramtron Ramtron International Corporation, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is a fabless semiconductor company that designs, develops and markets specialized semiconductor memory and integrated semiconductor solutions used in a wide range of product applications and markets worldwide. For more information, visit . About EPCglobal Inc. EPCglobal Inc is a subsidiary of the global not-for-profit standards organization GS1 and supports the global adoption of the Electronic Product Code(TM) (EPC) to support the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in today's fast-moving, information-rich trading networks. For more information about EPCglobal Inc, visit: .

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