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In August 2000, MOSAID Technologies and ATMOS Corporation expanded a relationship to combine MOSAID’s DRAM design expertise with ATMOS’s embedded-DRAM compiler. The arrangement gave ATMOS access to MOSAID architecture and circuit intellectual property for future compiler generations, while MOSAID received an equity stake, a compiler license, and a route to use the tool in its chip designs.
What the collaboration announced
The August 10, 2000 agreement built on work the companies had begun in December 1999 to develop a commercially available embedded DRAM memory compiler. ATMOS launched the product in June 2000; MOSAID was its first fabless semiconductor customer, according to the announcement.
Under the expanded agreement, ATMOS would use MOSAID’s DRAM architecture and proven circuit technology to develop future generations of DRAM compilers. In return, MOSAID received a 19.9% equity stake in ATMOS, a license to use ATMOS compilers, and royalties tied to licensed use of MOSAID intellectual property. The agreement announcement describes those terms.
What an embedded DRAM compiler did
Rather than manually designing each embedded memory block from scratch, a compiler generated configurable memory macros for integration into a larger chip. Contemporary coverage described ATMOS’s tool as a 0.18-micron DRAM Macrocell Compiler for merged logic-DRAM technology. Designers could explore choices such as memory size, speed, and configuration, including through online simulations before selecting a design for production, as ATMOS president C. Paul Slaby explained in EDN’s 2000 product coverage.
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The intended benefit was to reduce the effort and time involved in embedded-memory design. That was ATMOS’s stated product goal, not an independently measured comparison of design time or performance.
Specifications reported at launch
EDN’s 2000 coverage reported the following specifications for the product. These are period product figures, not specifications for current DRAM technology; the coverage does not identify them as independently tested results.
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| Attribute | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Generated memory capacity | 96 kilobits to 32 megabits per memory; expandable to 128 megabits by tiling |
| Word width | Beginning at 24 bits, configurable in one-bit steps |
| Supply voltage | 1.8 V |
| Row access | Below 14 ns |
| Column access | Below 5 ns |
All values in the table were reported in EDN’s 2000 coverage. They describe the announced compiler product and should not be read as a comparison with other products or as present-day performance claims.
Why the companies joined forces
The collaboration paired different assets. ATMOS brought the compiler product and its ability to generate configurable memory blocks. MOSAID contributed DRAM architecture and circuit technology, and the licensing terms compensated MOSAID for use of its intellectual property.
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For ATMOS, the additional MOSAID IP was intended to help it develop new types of DRAM compilers more rapidly. For MOSAID, access to ATMOS’s compiler offered a way to use generated embedded-memory blocks in its own networking-chip work. The companies presented faster development and time to market as advantages; those were their stated expectations, not documented customer results. The announcement quotes ATMOS president C. Paul Slaby and MOSAID Semiconductor Division senior vice president and general manager Dan Mathers on these aims.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happened to ATMOS afterward
MoSys announced completion of its acquisition of ATMOS in September 2002. MoSys said it assumed ATMOS’s existing MOSAID license, modified and extended to cover MoSys and its subsidiaries. The acquisition announcement documents that corporate-history detail; it does not establish that the legacy compiler or its technology is available today.
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