Matrix Semiconductor’s 2004 move from 0.25-micron to 0.15-micron design rules was intended to make its 3D PROM cheaper to produce and increase the number of memory components made on each wafer. The technology stacked one-time-programmable memory layers above CMOS control circuitry, aiming to give content publishers an alternative between inflexible mask ROM and pricier rewritable flash.
What Matrix 3DM was
Matrix 3-D Memory, or 3DM, was programmable nonvolatile memory designed to store data in multiple vertical layers within a single chip. Conventional CMOS transistors at the bottom handled addressing and control. Above them, memory cells used an antifuse and diode at each storage crosspoint, connected by metal lines. When programmed, an antifuse became a short; an unprogrammed cell remained open. EDN’s 2004 announcement described the process transition, while its technical analysis explains the memory’s operation.
Why Matrix moved from 0.25 to 0.15 micron
On November 8, 2004, Matrix announced that it had moved its 3DM technology from 0.25-micron to 0.15-micron design rules. Smaller design rules were intended to reduce manufacturing cost and fit more components on a wafer. Those were the company’s stated goals, not a published independent measurement of cost per bit or manufacturing yield.
The move followed an earlier milestone: EE Times reported in 2004 that Matrix had shipped an eight-layer, 512-Mbit antifuse PROM in limited production in 2003, made by TSMC using a 0.25-micron CMOS process. In 2005, EE Times described a later 1-Gbit device with a company-claimed die area of 31 mm². Its hybrid scaling used 150-nm logic layers and 130-nm memory layers, and Matrix said segmented wordlines reduced non-memory overhead by nearly 25 percent. These later figures describe a subsequent device, not the 2004 0.15-micron announcement. EE Times’ 2005 report covers that development.
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How it compared with mask ROM and flash
Matrix positioned 3DM for publishing digital content. Mask ROM was fixed during manufacturing and involved long customer lead times; flash could be programmed later and rewritten, but Matrix characterized it as more expensive for the intended use. 3DM was programmed once, so it offered publishers a way to load content after chip fabrication without giving users rewritable flash.
| Option | Programming and workflow | Cost and density context | Intended role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mask ROM | Content fixed during manufacture; Matrix cited long customer lead times. | Matrix described it as less flexible; no comparable cost-per-bit figure was stated in the cited reports. | Mass-produced fixed content. |
| Matrix 3DM | One-time programmable; content could be loaded once rather than fixed as mask ROM. | The 0.15-micron move aimed to lower cost and increase components per wafer; no independently measured cost or density comparison was reported. | Published content for portable devices and other consumer products. |
| Flash | Programmable after manufacture and rewritable. | Matrix said it cost more for the targeted content-publishing use; the reports provide no independent cost-per-bit comparison. | Flexible storage where rewriting is needed. |
Was 3DM flash memory?
No. It was nonvolatile memory with read behavior described as function-compatible with NAND flash, but its antifuse cells made it one-time-programmable rather than rewritable. Writes also differed: the device required a special multicommand unlock sequence unless an input pin was tied high, and data had to be written in minimum 64-bit packets with octal-byte alignment. EDN reported that a 16-MByte zone could contain as many as 643 bad pages. These are historical device characteristics, not guidance for a currently supported product.
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Products, manufacturing and performance
TSMC fabricated the 0.15-micron devices; Amkor handled packaging and testing. Matrix offered standard chip packages and MultiMediaCard (MMC) versions in 16-, 32- and 64-MByte capacities. EDN reported NAND-compatible TSOP packages and MMC cards, with 2 Mbytes/sec sustained read performance. The publication also reported Matrix’s claim of 1 Mbyte/sec sustained write performance; that was a company claim in the historical report, not an independently verified benchmark.
EDN said Matrix had not fully characterized operation beyond 0–70°C. Accordingly, the cited material does not establish reliable operation outside that range.
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What devices Matrix targeted
Matrix pitched 3DM as a medium for distributing preloaded or published content to portable audio-video players, portable games, advanced toys, mobile phones and handheld computers. The company’s rationale was that small content cards could let customers share material among compatible portable devices. In 2004, EDN reported Matrix’s expectation that 200 million mobile handsets and handhelds with memory-card slots would exist by 2006; this was a forecast at the time, not a confirmed present-day market statistic.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Can you still buy a Matrix 3DM MMC card?
The cited reports document historical product formats and capacities, but they do not establish current inventory, active production, or present-day retail availability. They are not current product catalogs, so a 16-, 32- or 64-MByte MMC format appearing in a 2004 report is not evidence that a card can still be purchased today.
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