FRAM memory designed into fimicro's PC/104-compliant single board computer and smart I/O modules

fimicro has designed Ramtron’s FM22L16 4-megabit parallel FRAM device into its active104 SBC, RAID, Ethernet, and USB boards. FRAM has replaced Flash, SRAM, and EEPROM memory technologies in the active104 systems where Ramtron’s FRAM non-volatility, No Delay™ writes, and virtually limitless endurance are ideal for guaranteeing data integrity.

“FRAM is used as replacement of less reliable Flash memory on our active104 boards to store the BIOS, OS, additional system software and vital system data,” says Simone Fischer, Managing Partner of fimicro. “It also replaces SRAM and EEPROM on our smart I/O modules. The comprehensive use of FRAM as a non-volatile memory technology throughout fimicro’s hardware product portfolio increases the reliability and overall robustness of our systems.”

fimicro's SBC and smart I/O boards incorporate four 4Mb parallel FRAM devices, forming a non-volatile memory array of 2 megabytes (MB) that the system can directly boot from and restore its latest operating status within milliseconds after the reboot.. FRAM is an ideal replacement for Flash in this application because of its high endurance and fast writes.

“The fact that fimicro has selected the FM22L16 for its active104 SBC, RAID, Ethernet, and USB boards is testament to FRAM’s growing acceptance among advanced embedded hardware providers,” says Duncan Bennett, Ramtron Strategic Marketing Manager. “FRAM is an integral part of fimicro’s active104 systems because it ensures data reliability and prevents data loss in the event of a power failure.”

FRAM also replaces SRAM in the interface logic of all active104 smart I/O modules. An additional 4Mb FRAM device has been integrated onto each of fimicro’s RAID, Ethernet, and USB modules to enable fast read/write access and to guarantee data integrity. All data transferred between the SBC and the module is stored in the FRAM at bus speed and is protected if the power fails. Additionally, this stored data allows the module to resume at exactly the same point when power is restored. FRAM is also used instead of EEPROM in the active104 system to store device configuration data when needed.