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NEC Electronics Corporation and its subsidiaries, NEC Electronics America Inc. and NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH, have introduced two new technologies for the manufacture of 40 nm system-on-chip (SoC) devices with embedded dynamic random access memory (eDRAM).

The UX8GD eDRAM technology can run at clock speeds up to 800 MHz yet consumes very little operating power. The UX8LD eDRAM technology features low leakage-current levels that reduce power consumption by as much two-thirds compared to equivalent SRAM, making it ideal for use in mobile handsets and other portable devices that require low standby power.

The UX8GD and UX8LD technologies combine 40 nm CMOS process technology with NEC Electronics' unique eDRAM process technology, and are available in memory configurations up to 256 Mb. Cell size is 0.06 square micrometer, 50% smaller than the company's previous 55 nm UX7LSeD eDRAM. This translates to a 50% reduction in overall chip size that contributes to lower bill-of-materials costs.

The new 40 nm technologies also leverage innovative high-dielectric (high-k) materials — such as hafnium gate dielectrics, nickel-silicide gate electrodes, and zirconium-oxide DRAM capacitors — that have been proven in NEC Electronics' 55 nm UX7LSeD technology. These innovations lower the concentration of impurities and parasitic resistance in the channels, resulting in benefits such as lower leakage current between the drain and source, longer-term data storage, fewer variations in transistor performance and greater performance of both logic and memory.

NEC Electronics began shipment of 55 nm eDRAM samples in October 2007 and plans to ramp up to volume production by April 2008. Volume production of 40 nm devices is scheduled to begin by the end of the next fiscal year at NEC Electronics' 300 mm wafer line at its manufacturing subsidiary NEC Yamagata.