/> “Releasing samples of the FM24C04C and FM24C16C devices is a significant milestone in our new foundry program,” said Eric Balzer, Ramtron’s CEO. “These pre-qualification devices, which meet all datasheet specifications and our stringent quality standards, are available now for customer evaluation. Additional devices, including 3-volt I2C and 3- and 5-volt SPI products, will become available for sampling as testing is completed.”

The FM24C04C and FM24C16C feature a serial I2C interface, have an active current of 100µA (typical at 100kHz) and perform up to 1MHz bus frequency. The devices are direct drop-in replacements for 4- and 16-Kb serial EEPROM memories used in industrial controls, metering, medical, military, gaming, and computing applications, among others. The FM24C04C and FM24C16C are offered in an industry standard 8-pin SOIC package and operate over the industrial temperature range of -40°C to +85°C.

Ramtron’s FM24CxxC products offer single-byte writes that are 200 times faster than those of EEPROM. In addition, the devices offer no timing delays and can be written to at standard bus speeds as compared to EEPROM, which requires a 5- to 10-millisecond write delay before new data can be registered. The FM24C04C and FM24C16C feature 1-trillion write cycles, compared to 1-million write cycles for EEPROM, and have an extremely low operating current compared to competing nonvolatile memory products.

About the IBM/Ramtron Foundry Relationship
Ramtron and IBM entered into a foundry services agreement in early 2009 that called for the installation of Ramtron’s F-RAM semiconductor process technology in IBM’s Burlington, Vermont, advanced wafer manufacturing facility. Ramtron’s proprietary F-RAM technology stack has been inserted into IBM’s 0.18 micron CMOS process to create Ramtron’s signature high-performance nonvolatile F-RAM products. IBM’s world-class foundry provides a flexible and cost effective manufacturing platform for Ramtron’s existing products and new product development initiatives.