Avi Strum

Non-volatile memories in the foundry business

The role of non-volatile memory (NVM) technologies in the business of silicon foundries is reviewed. Solutions that comply with the NVM requests of diverse customers in todays semiconductor market are analyzed both from technical and business viewpoints. The strategy of NVM internal development in a foundry, the availability of NVM for special technology platforms, and the compromise between internal and external memory intellectual property (IP) are discussed using TowerJazz memory solutions as examples.

Transition to second-generation HgCdTe FPA

The transition to second generation backside-illuminated dense LWIR FPAs requires consideration of issues not previously relevant in first generation modules: unlike in front illuminated arrays, the MTF (or effective area) of a pixel is no longer close to the ideal sinc function. The cutoff wavelength, quantum efficiency and crosstalk depend on the thickness and composition grading of the epitaxial layer. The tradeoff between resolution and sensitivity demands extensive engineering and optimization of the array configuration. The transition was accomplished by comparisons of simulations with experimental results. Expectations of performance indicators, such as MTF, quantum efficiency and crosstalk were obtained by detailed Monte-Carlo simulations. The results were used to configure the focal plane array. This paper discuses the basic assumptions and simulation results and compares them with the performance of actual detectors and various test structures.