HSINCHU, Taiwan, Dec. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Macronix International Co., Ltd. today announced that it has five papers selected for the 2012 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) taking place in San Francisco December 10-12. The selection of five papers from Macronix is the highest of all Taiwan-based companies; and two are further chosen as Highlight Papers. In addition, Macronix will be the first to publish a report on 6-bit/cell flash memory research results at the 2013 IEEE International Solid-state Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in February. Macronix has topped Taiwan-based enterprises in releasing papers at IEDM in recent years; its achievement in R&D of cutting-edge memory technologies has won international attention.

One of the two Highlight Papers selected for 2012 IEDM focuses on a Minimal Incremental Layer Cost (MiLC) fabricating process that simplifies the staircase BL (bit line) contact formation of data transfer channels. The most significant advantage of the fabricating process is that it features a large decrease in the number of photomasks needed in the fabrication of 3D memories. For example, a conventional fabricating process would use one photo mask for each BL contact, and a 32-layer 3D NAND would need 32 photo masks for this task. MiLC needs only five photo masks to achieve the same results, greatly reduces the fabrication cost and cycle time.

The other Highlight Paper deals with self-healing flash memories. The lifetime of flash memory (approximately 1,000 - 100,000 cycles) is limited by unavoidable material defects generated by repeated program/erase (P/E) stressing. In this paper, Macronix proposes a novel solution that provides in-situ thermal annealing for flash memories to heal themselves. The solution can restore original functions and extend the lifetime of flash memories, with the self-healing mechanism parallel to the way "stem cells" regenerate and rejuvenate organs. In this work Macronix demonstrated the device could generate record-setting endurance of >100 million cycles with excellent data retention, that is nearly a hundred thousand times better than current advanced node flash memory cells are rated to last. This breakthrough appealed to IEEE's flagship publication, IEEE Spectrum, to have a special report of Macronix's research results in the recent December journal that has also garnered international media attentions.  

Macronix President, Dr. C. Y. Lu, who will attend 2012 IEDM, said "IEDM has been regarded as the world's most famous meeting for the microelectronic device industry, with many outstanding research results published at the meeting each year. Macronix has published more than 45 papers at IEDM over the past 12 years and it has published the most papers among Taiwan-based enterprises in recent years. There are 11 Highlight Papers at the 2012 IEDM with two from Macronix -- which is more than many leading international companies, indicating Macronix's global competitiveness in advanced memory."

More than 600 papers are contributed to IEDM each year on average with about 200 selected through strict examination for publication at the meeting. This year, there are 21 selected papers from Taiwan-based companies, institutes, and universities. Three of Macronix's five papers focus on 3D memories; one addresses the self-healing of memories and one studies new materials for phase-change memories. In addition to Macronix, five papers are contributed by Taiwan's National Nano Device Laboratories, four by National Chiao Tung University and four by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) based on the affiliation of the first authors. Belgium-based Interuniversity Microelectronics Center (IMEC) has 17 papers selected for 2012 IEDM, making it the largest contributor, followed by IBM with 15.

At the 2006 ISSCC, Macronix published a report about the world's first 1Gigabit flash chip with 4 bits per cell, which represented the most advanced technology in the world at that time. Macronix will present the world's first flash memory chip with 6 bits per cell based on a charge-trapping process at the 2013 ISSCC, once again showing its leading status in the global industry of flash memory.  

IEDM (IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting)

Outstanding research results covering design and fabrication of semiconductors, modules and devices are published at IEDM each year. A total of 203 papers have been selected for 2012 IEDM, for further information please inquire at http://www.his.com/~iedm/ 

For Macronix's two Highlight Papers, information is available at:

• Paper#2.3, "Highly Scalable 8-Layer Vertical-Gate 3D NAND With Split-Page Bit Line Layout and Efficient Binary-Sum MiLC (Minimal Incremental Layer Cost) Staircase Contacts," S.H. Chen et al, Macronix International
  http://www.btbmarketing.com/iedm/images/images_wCaptions/2.3_Horizontal_Channels_Key_To_Ultra-Small_3D_NAND_Macronix.doc
• Paper #9.1, "Radically Extending The Cycling Endurance of Flash Memory (to >100M Cycles) by Using Built-In Thermal Annealing to Self-Heal the Stress-Induced Damage," H.-T. Lue et al, Macronix International
  http://www.btbmarketing.com/iedm/images/images_wCaptions/9.1_Self-Healing_Flash_Memories_Macronix.doc

IEEE Spectrum Article of Macronix's Paper:

Flash Memory Survives 100 Million Cycles - IEEE Spectrum By Yu-Tzu Chiu

http://spectrum.ieee.org/semiconductors/memory/flash-memory-survives-100-million-cycles

ISSCC (IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference)

ISSCC is the world's most famous international conference on advanced solid-state circuits and system-on-chips for IC design. With attendance of leading electronics companies and IC design engineers each year, ISSCC is an important conference for observing development of semiconductor technologies. The 2013 ISSCC is the 60th annual meeting with 209 papers to be published; further information is available at http://isscc.org/index.html

About Macronix International Co., Ltd.

Macronix, a leading integrated device manufacturer in the Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) market, provides a full range of NOR Flash, NAND Flash, and ROM products. With its world-class R&D and manufacturing capability, Macronix continues to deliver high-quality, innovative and performance driven products to its customers in the consumer, communication, computing, automotive, networking and other market segments.

For more information, please visit Macronix website: www.macronix.com

Macronix International Co., Ltd.
No.16, Li-Hsin Road,
Science Park, Hsin-chu,
Taiwan
TEL: +886-3-578-6688
FAX:+886-3-563-2888
http://www.macronix.com

Media Contact:

Michelle Chang
Deputy Director
Corporate Communication Office
Macronix International Co., Ltd.
TEL: +886-3-578-6688 ext. 71233
Mobile: +886-933310870
Email: michellechang@mxic.com.tw

SOURCE Macronix International Co., Ltd.