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eDRAM Success Stories
NEC Electronics's eDRAM is found is a broad range of applications and it is widely regarded as the optimum choice for systems that require the high processing speeds enabled by on-chip communication between logic circuits and data storage circuits (DRAM). A typical example is the graphics processing subsystem of video game consoles.
Following are some examples of how eDRAM from NEC Electronics has contributed to the success of several of today's leading game consoles.
90 nm eDRAM graphics chips
90 nm eDRAM from NEC Electronics is used in the graphics chips of the Microsoft® Xbox360TM video game and entertainment system and the Nintendo® WiiTM game console where it delivers smooth, high-resolution graphics. Millions of these chips have been shipped to date, confirming NEC Electronics' reputation as a volume supplier of critical components.
0.18 µm eDRAM graphics chips
With integrated blocks of embedded DRAM and CMOS logic, NEC Electronics's 0.18 µm embedded DRAM technology is at the heart of the Nintendo GameCubeTM graphics system chip. Following an agressive ramp-up to meet production demands for the popular gaming system, NEC Electronics shipped more than 10 million units.
The Nintendo GameCube graphics chip contains two large blocks of embedded DRAM. Generated by orientation-free macros, these blocks were rotated as needed to optimize the chip's layout. The flexible layout also provides the ability to route fifth- and sixth-layer metal over the top of the embedded DRAM blocks.
The embedded DRAM macro-blocks have an exceptionally fast random access time: less than 6.17 ns. This dramatic performance, achieved by the combination of NEC Electronics's 0.18 µm embedded DRAM process with the MoSys 1T-SRAM™ memory macro architecture, also avoids the delays and I/O pin count limitations associated with external memory devices.
- Xbox360 is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.
- Wii, Nintendo GameCube and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo.
- 1T-SRAM is a registered trademark of MoSys Inc.
