Silicon Storage Technology (SST), a subsidiary of Microchip Technology, and semiconductor foundry United MicroElectronics Corporation (UMC) have announced the immediate production release of SST’s embedded SuperFlash Gen 4 (ESF4) Memory, qualified to full Automotive Grade 1 (AG1) standards on UMC’s 28HPC+ process.

The platform has completed full qualification and is now available for automotive manufacturers producing next-generation controllers that require high reliability and performance under demanding operating conditions.

Developed through close collaboration between SST and UMC, the ESF4 solution is designed to enhance embedded non-volatile memory (eNVM) performance while meeting stringent automotive reliability requirements. SST said the technology also reduces the number of additional mask layers compared with other 28nm high‑k metal gate embedded flash implementations, offering customers cost benefits and improved Manufacturing efficiency.

The companies are encouraging customers currently using 40nm SuperFlash Gen 3 AG1 platforms to consider migrating to the 28nm ESF4 platform as part of their transition to more advanced process nodes.

“As automotive requirements accelerate, developers need solutions that drive efficiency, speed up time to market and satisfy stringent industry standards,” said Mark Reiten, Vice President of Microchip’s licensing business unit. “UMC and SST have delivered a robust 28nm AG1 solution which is now ready for the production of customer designs.”

Reiten added that UMC had been a long-standing partner in the development of SuperFlash technology, noting that both companies continue to respond to evolving automotive market needs with technically and economically competitive offerings.

Steven Hsu, Vice President of Technology Development at UMC, said growing demand for connected and autonomous vehicle technologies has increased the need for reliable, high‑capacity embedded memory.

“This has driven customer demand for scaling SuperFlash to the 28nm process,” Hsu said. “Through our close collaboration with SST, we have successfully launched the ESF4 solution, fully integrated into the widely adopted 28HPC+ platform.”

According to the companies, the 28HPC+ ESF4 AG1 platform is qualified to Automotive Electronics Council AEC‑Q100 Grade 1 standards, supporting junction temperatures from ‑40°C to +150°C. Key specifications include read access times below 12.5 nanoseconds, endurance exceeding 100,000 cycles, data retention of more than 10 years at 125°C, and the requirement for only single‑bit error correction. A 32Mb macro has been qualified under AG1 conditions.

Automotive controller shipments continue to grow as vehicle applications expand across electrification, connectivity and over‑the‑air software updates. SST said its ESF4 solution is intended to support these trends by enabling reliable embedded code and data storage for high‑capacity and update‑intensive automotive systems.