Semiconductor manufacturing international (SMIC) is China's largest and most advanced foundries, besides processor they are actively planning storage class chip business. In September 2014 they launched their own development 38 nm NAND flash memory chips, smic has reached a strategic cooperation agreement with Crossbar company again, will use 40 nm process for the latter generation of labor the PRAM resistance variant memory chips, means that smic has entered the next generation of memory industry.

PRAM, also known as phase-change memory, the resistance change storage PRAM using one or more containing sulfide glass, its characteristic is heated after can change shape, become crystalline or amorphous, and the different states have different resistance, thus can be used to store data.

Compared with the ordinary DRAM, PRAM memory not only write 30 times faster, longevity 10 times, and will not lose data when there is a power in the PRAM, so it can not only replace the memory, also can replace flash memory. Currently Intel, samsung and other companies are active in the PRAM memory research and development.

Smic cooperation partner of Crossbar is one of the leaders in global industry PRAM memory, smic will use 40 nm CMOS foundry PRAM for its products, will help customers to low latency, high performance and low power consumption embedded RRAM memory component integration into the MCU and SoC devices, such as in response to a iot, wearable devices, tablets, consumer electronics, industrial and automotive electronic market demand.