Nov 23, 2020

Ferroelectric Memory, a specialist in ferroelectric hafnium oxide technology, has completed a $20 million Series B funding round. The company said that the round of financing, led by the new investors M Ventures and imec.xpand, with participation of SK hynix, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, and TEL Venture Capital, aims to support FMC throughout the whole semiconductor value chain to bring its advanced ferroelectric memory technology to market. The company plans to expand its team in Dresden, as well as to start international expansion, including into the US and Asian markets. “The rise of AI, IoT, Big Data, and 5G are demanding next-generation memory solutions that enable superior speed and ultra-low power consumption, while being compatible with leading-edge CMOS logic processes guaranteeing reduced manufacturing costs,” said Ali Pourkeramati, CEO of FMC. “We have strong interest from customers and development partners for our advantages in fast access, program and erase speed, best-in-class ultra-low energy budget, ease-of-integration into existing manufacturing processes, and low manufacturing costs. This funding will speed up the commercialisation of our ferroelectric field-effect transistor (FeFET) and capacitor (FeCAP) technology into exponentially increasing markets in the AI, IoT, embedded memory, and high-performance stand-alone data centre sectors.” FMC has already made significant progress in the development of its non-volatile memory technology promising to offer much improved levels of performance compared with state-of-the-art and emerging memory solutions. It is currently working closely with major semiconductor companies, as well as with foundries in the US, Europe, and Asia. The company's memory technology uses the ferroelectric properties of crystalline hafnium oxide (HfO2). HfO2 in its amorphous form is already the gate insulator material of every CMOS transistor ranging from planar to FinFET. Its patent-protected technology makes it simple to transform amorphous HfO2 into crystalline ferroelectric HfO2., so that every standard CMOS transistor and capacitor can be turned into a non-volatile memory cell, a ferroelectric field-effect transistor (FeFET) or capacitor (FeCAP). In addition to its high speed, ultra-low power, CMOS logic compatibility, reduced manufacturing cost, and extreme temperature stability, FMC’s technology provides complete magnetic immunity and high radiation resistance. FeFETs and FeCAPs can be integrated into CMOS production lines using existing equipment without the need for extra capital expenditures. Author