As vehicles become increasingly intelligent and autonomous, the demand for memory is skyrocketing. This is especially true for NOR flash, which plays a crucial role in safety systems, and eMMC, which is expanding into smart cockpits. These non-volatile (NVM) memory solutions are among the highlights of Macronix’s presence at electronica 2024.

Classic NOR flash memory has consistently grown in popularity across various applications, including automotive and consumer electronics, thanks to its fast read/write speeds and high reliability. However, due to technological limitations, NOR flash capacity had stagnated at 4x nanometers (nm) for a decade. This bottleneck is now being broken by Macronix’s innovative products! Leveraging its successful 3D NAND flash technology, Macronix has become the first in the world to develop 3D NOR flash memory, which made its debut at the electronica 2024 trade show in Munich, Germany.

The global NOR flash memory industry is experiencing rapid growth. According to market research forecasts, the NOR flash memory market size is expected to reach $3.6 billion by 2029, up from approximately $2.69 billion in 2024, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.01 percent.

The growth of the NOR flash market is primarily driven by the increasing adoption of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), in-vehicle networks, autonomous driving and digital dashboards in vehicles. NOR flash is becoming an integral part of critical automotive safety systems due to its safety, reliability and low power consumption. These advanced in-vehicle systems rely on NOR flash for the stable, reliable and rapid storage of essential software, firmware and various mapping data, thereby driving the demand for higher-capacity NOR flash.

However, existing 2D NOR flash technology has encountered challenges in scaling beyond 4x nm, and most memory manufacturers have halted development at this last-generation technology. “Considering the annual market size of NOR flash, which is around $2-3 billion, most manufacturers are no longer investing in developing new technologies for it,” said Martin Lin, Director of Marketing Division at Macronix International.”

Nevertheless, Macronix remains committed to advancing the technology, recognizing the immense potential of 3D NOR flash, similar to NAND. Several years ago, the company embarked on research and development to create higher-density NOR flash at a lower cost. In fact, to develop higher-capacity, lower-cost and technologically innovative products, Macronix has consistently focused on its core non-volatile memory and flash business. For instance, Macronix is developing 3D NAND reaching 192 layers, which it plans to launch next year. Additionally, 3D NAND with over 300 layers is already on the company’s development roadmap.

World’s First Standalone 3D NOR Flash Chip Makes Its Debut

Building upon the success of its 3D NAND technology, Macronix’s 3D NOR flash can be directly integrated into the company’s existing 3D NAND manufacturing infrastructure, enabling the stable production of higher-capacity NOR flash and paving the way for future mass production.

The first product built on the 3D NOR flash technology is expected to be a single-chip 4Gb solution. Lin stated that, currently, the highest capacity of general commercial 2D NOR flash is around 2Gb, which requires stacking four 512Mb chips. Now, Macronix’s 3D technology is expected to break through this technical bottleneck. “Achieving 4Gb 3D NOR flash with a single chip eliminates the need to change the packaging method,” he said. “This avoids the impact of stacked packaging bonding on chip reliability and meeting higher quality requirements.” Next, Macronix plans to develop 2Gb NOR flash using this 3D technology to challenge existing 2D NOR flash with better cost advantages.

Compared to 2D NOR flash, Macronix’s latest 32-layer 3D NOR flash offers eight times more capacity in a single chip, with faster erase and programming performance. Technically, this 3D NOR flash technology supports high-speed OctaFlash and traditional QSPI interfaces, 200MHz DDR, 100K endurance cycles, automotive-grade reliability, and ISO26262 functional safety, making it the ideal solution for automotive and industrial applications requiring strict quality and reliability standards.

Macronix’s 3D NOR flash is a type of 3D AND array architecture, a branch of NOR flash where transistors are connected in parallel. Due to the paired configuration of its bit lines (BL) and source lines (SL), it is called an AND type, distinguishing it from the 2D NOR flash design that shares a common SL. Compared to the traditional NOR’s channel hot electron (CHE), the AND array also facilitates FN tunneling, enabling higher parallelism and thus making it more suitable for NOR flash to provide faster write bandwidth at higher density and lower power consumption.

eMMC Expands into Embedded Applications

In addition to NOR flash, another type of memory expanding its presence in vehicles is embedded MultiMediaCard (eMMC). As smartphones increasingly transition to UFS memory, eMMC, which integrates flash and controller into a single package, is being adopted in more embedded applications, especially in automotive electronic control units (ECUs) and autonomous driving.

“eMMC was originally developed for smartphone storage, and this application is now gradually phasing out, with many major manufacturers discontinuing these products,” said Lin. “However, for a wide range of embedded applications outside of smartphones, such as automotive, medical, data centers, industrial computers, and POS systems, eMMC has become a new product category.”

Still, embedded market customers have found that existing suppliers may not guarantee long-term supply of these lower-capacity eMMCs. “Whether for automotive, industrial, or medical applications, price isn’t usually an issue for customers needing eMMC,” Lin said. “What’s crucial is ensuring stable supply for five or ten-plus years.”

The “Product Longevity Program” has long been a Macronix commitment. Lin said that once deciding to enter a product market, Macronix wants customers to feel secure in product longevity, whether they’re purchasing NOR flash, SLC NAND, or eMMC. “We’re even still selling products from 20 years ago,” he stated. It’s this commitment to long-term supply and sense of security that has helped Macronix build lasting partnerships with many European, American and Japanese customers.

Macronix currently offers 2-8GB 19nm 2D MLC architecture and new products with 8-32GB 96-layer 3D NAND flash.

Full Memory Portfolio Showcased at electronica 2024

At electronica 2024, held in November in Munich, Macronix showcased its complete memory product portfolio in two major zones, “Innovation, Quality, Longevity & Sustainability” and “Ecosystem Partnerships.” The “Ecosystem” zone featured collaborations with industry partners including NXP, Renesas, ST, Qualcomm, and NVIDIA, demonstrating how Macronix’s products can be integrated into their systems.

Macronix’s industry-first 3D NOR flash samples took center stage in the “Automotive Memory” zone. Currently in the testing phase, this product is scheduled for mass production early next year. Additionally, Macronix showcased its 2G-16GB low-capacity eMMC product portfolio targeting mainstream embedded applications, along with more innovative technologies and latest product solutions.

Lin noted that as eMMC grows in the embedded market, “Now is the optimal time to aggressively push this market.” Having cultivated the eMMC product domain for many years, Macronix used electronica 2024 not only to promote this product series but also to convey its stability, reliability and long-term supply capabilities, as well as its commitment to providing customers with peace of mind.

By: DocMemory
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