28 nm embedded flash reaches automotive Grade 1 production

Silicon Storage Technology (SST), a subsidiary of Microchip Technology, and United Microelectronics Corporation have completed full qualification and released to production an embedded non-volatile memory solution targeting automotive Grade 1 controllers at the 28 nm node.

Scaling embedded flash for next-generation vehicle controllers
The newly qualified solution combines SST’s embedded SuperFlash Gen 4 (ESF4) technology with UMC’s 28HPC+ high-performance logic process. It is certified to Automotive Electronics Council AEC-Q100 Grade 1 requirements, supporting junction temperatures from –40 °C to +150 °C. This positions the platform for advanced automotive controllers that must meet stringent reliability, longevity, and safety standards while delivering higher compute performance.

Compared with alternative 28 nm high-k/metal-gate embedded flash implementations, ESF4 reduces the number of additional masking steps required during fabrication. This directly lowers process complexity and manufacturing cost, while improving yield efficiency—factors that are increasingly critical as automotive silicon migrates to more advanced nodes.

Performance and reliability characteristics
On the 28HPC+ platform, ESF4 delivers read access times below 12.5 ns, endurance exceeding 100,000 program/erase cycles, and data retention greater than ten years at 125 °C. Automotive Grade 1 qualification was demonstrated on a 32 Mb macro, achieving zero observed bit failures without applying error-correction coding and reaching peak yields of 100 percent. Only single-bit ECC is required in system designs, simplifying controller architectures.

These metrics address a key challenge in modern vehicle electronics: maintaining fast and deterministic code execution while ensuring long-term data integrity under high thermal and electrical stress.

Enabling software-defined vehicle architectures
As automotive controllers grow in complexity and software content, embedded non-volatile memory must support larger firmware images and frequent updates. The ESF4 solution is designed to accommodate high-capacity code storage and over-the-air update workflows, supporting the transition toward software-defined vehicles with longer lifecycles and evolving feature sets.

SST and UMC are positioning the 28 nm ESF4 AG1 platform as a migration path for customers currently using 40 nm ESF3 automotive solutions, allowing them to scale performance and integration density without compromising reliability or compliance.

By integrating a qualified embedded flash option into a widely adopted 28 nm logic platform, the collaboration provides automotive semiconductor designers with a production-ready foundation for next-generation vehicle controllers that balance performance, cost efficiency, and automotive-grade robustness.