Weebit 2FQ20 Activities Update

Highlights for 2FQ20

• Technology verification by XTX Technology in China, 4 months ahead of schedule
  Leti confirms efficiency improvements, reducing manufacturing costs and improving yield
• 3 new patents filed with research partner Leti
• Commercialisation continues to progress with discussions with several potential customers

Weebit Nano Ltd provided the following operational update for the quarter ending 31 December 2019 (2FQ20), along with its 2FQ20 Appendix 4C cash flow report.

Over 2FQ20, it made progress on its path to commercialisation, improving the manufacturing efficiency of its silicon oxide (SiOx) ReRAM memory technology and achieving independent third-party technical verification by XTX Technology Limited.

XTX verification was a milestone for the company, achieved 4 months ahead of schedule. The two companies are now exploring ways to integrate Weebit’s ReRAM memory technology into XTX products.

Development work on the customised memory module for a potential first customer in South Korea continues, albeit at a slower pace than initially planned given Weebit’s focus on achieving third-party verification.

Coby Hanoch, CEO, Weebit Nano, said: “This was another significant quarter of progress for Weebit on its path to commercilaisation. Outside of a first customer contract, external technology verification is the most important milestone for a new memory technology company. In addition, the efficiency improvements achieved over the quarter mean our technology is more attractive to potential customers given reduced manufacturing costs and improved yields. Discussions with several potential semiconductor customers, technical partners and production facilities continue, and we are working to obtain first orders in 2020. The recent progress with XTX Technology strongly positions Weebit to target the discrete memory market.”

Technology verification by XTX
During the quarter, Weebit Nano achieved arguably the most important commercialisation milestone apart from a customer agreement – external verification of its technology. Silicon oxide ReRAM technology was verified by Chinese memory solutions provider XTX at its facility.

A joint team of b-oth companies’ engineers confirmed the technical parameters of Weebit’s technology at XTX’s Shenzhen facility, reproducing results previously achieved with French development partner Letihttp://www.leti-cea.com/cea-tech/leti/english/Pages/Welcome.aspx. This external verification was accomplished four months ahead of schedule.

XTX provides flash-based non-volatile memory solutions to about 2,000 customers, including some of leading semiconductor companies. It is focused on discrete, stand-alone, memory chips (i.e. chips that contain only memory). While entry into the discrete memory market was originally planned at a later stage, the progress achieved with XTX has enabled Weebit to fast track this stream.

Hanoch added: “Independent technology validation, particularly by a potential customer, is a very important milestone on the path to commercialisation. In the case of XTX, they have expressed strong interest in our technology for the discrete memory market and have allocated time and resources to test and validate it. Discrete memory chips contain larger memory arrays and are more technically challenging than embedded modules, requiring additional development work before reaching productisation. With XTX, we have now identified what those developments are, and are now defining with XTX how to create a memory product that meets the needs of their customers. It should be noted that these developments are not unique for XTX and will allow Weebit to address the very large non-volatile memory market once they are available.”

Leti confirms manufacturing efficiency improvements
Weebit improved its manufacturing efficiency during the quarter, continuing to fine-tune the production processes.

Testing conducted by research partner Leti confirmed Weebit arrays can be manufactured for embedded memory applications using just 1 or 2 added masks, compared to the 7 to 10 additional masks normally required for current flash memory. Mask sets in geometries below 28nm can cost millions of dollars, so reduced mask rates lower manufacturing costs.

Leti also confirmed Weebit’s methodologies can improve production yield by reducing device malfunctions, thereby increasing the profitability of each device.

“These efficiency improvements are very important for potential customers as well as the future profitability of Weebit’s ReRAM memory technology. Achieving lower-cost manufacturability using a smaller number of masks can reduce manufacturing costs for our customers by millions of dollars, and make Weebit’s technology even more attractive for them.”

Three new patents filed
As a result of the progress made with Leti, Weebit strengthened its IP during 2FQ20, filing 3 new joint patents. They use newly-developed algorithms to increase the reliability and yield of ReRAM memory cells and enable scalable ReRAM process improvements.

Two of these patents identify failure modes, in which optimised smart programming algorithms then improve the window margin and array yield. The third patent improves process flows, allowing increased stability at scaled memory cells in geometries of 40nm and below.

Weebit filed a total of 5 joint patents with Leti in 2019 as well as 1 sole patent.

According to the agreement with Leti, only Weebit can commercialise the joint patents.

Memory module development
Weebit continues to adapt its SiOx ReRAM technology to meet the memory module requirements of a tier-2 South Korean potential first customer. This development work on the customised memory continued over the quarter, albeit at a slower pace than initially planned, given Weebit’s focus on achieving external verification of its technology. This means that the mid-year timeframe for the completion of the memory module will likely be pushed out by around 4 months.

Developing a working memory module is an essential component on the path to productisation and commercialisation of embedded memory IP modules, enabling Weebit’s technology to interact with the rest of the design in a potential customer’s product.

While each design has its own specific module requirements, such as size, shape and number of R/W ports, this initial memory module is being built in a configurable manner so it can later be adapted to the requirements of other projects much faster. It is anticipated that after the first few projects Weebit will be able to automate this process and develop a Memory Compiler which can generate future modules almost automatically.

Alongside this development work, Weebit Nano continues to engage and progress discussions with other potential customers and partners.

Looking ahead
Weebit remains focused on producing its technology, securing first orders and achieving revenues.

The work with XTX provides an opportunity for Weebit to move into the discrete memory chip market, identifying the needed developments required to productise its technology in this market. Weebit believes it can accelerate entry into this market and is now exploring ways to implement these required developments, given the huge market opportunity this segment represents. Both firms are currently discussing the next steps of their co-operation.

In parallel to the work on the discrete memory chip technology, Weebit is continuing the development of the memory module for the embedded market and plans to have it available before the end of 2020.

The progress in both the discrete memory and in the embedded memory solutions enables the company to progress with multiple commercial discussions with potential customers and Weebit is aiming to achieve first orders in 2020.

In partnership with Leti, Weebit will continue to improve its technical parameters and manufacturing processes, ensuring its technology yields the most profitable results in production. The company is on track to transfer its technology to a production fab by December 2020.