Memory devices boast flexible erase & seamless partitioning

10th June 2014

Staff Reporter

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The introduction of the SST25WF020A, SST25WF040B and SST25WF080B devices signals an expansion of Microchip's SPI Serial Flash Memory portfolio. The devices offer 2-, 4- and 8-Mbit of memory and are manufactured with the company's SuperFlash technology and NOR Flash cell architecture.

With a low-operating voltage range from 1.65 to 1.95V, extremely low-power consumption, small-footprint, and low-profile packaging, these SPI Flash memory devices excel in a variety of applications. The memory is partitioned into uniform 4 Kbyte sectors and 64 Kbyte blocks, offering flexible erase capabilities and seamless partitioning for programme and data code in the same memory block. These devices enable designers to improve product performance and lower system cost during the design cycle and manufacturing. The range provides designers with a low-voltage option on the power-supply voltage for their chipsets and board designs, and reduces overall power consumption, making these Flash memory devices especially suitable for battery-operated accessories, portable medical devices, and Bluetooth®/Wi-Fi®-enabled devices such as remotes, headsets and hearing aids.

SST25WF020A, SST25WF040B and SST25WF080B SPI Flash memory devices offer flexible erase and programme performance, including erasing 4 Kbyte sectors as fast as 40 ms, erasing 64 Kbyte blocks as fast as 80 ms, erasing the entire Flash memory chip in 300 ms, and a programming time of 3 ms for a 256-byte page using Page Programme. The devices also offer Fast-Read Dual I/O and superior typical reliability of 100,000 endurance cycles, and greater than 20 years of data retention. The active read current of these devices is typically only 4 mA at 40 MHz, and typical standby current is only 4 µA.

Package options include an 8-pin USON (2 x 3 mm) that uses one-fifth of the board space of the traditional 8-pin SOIC. For even more space-constrained designs, a chip-scale package is expected to be available in October.

All three devices excel in a broad range of applications, including those in the consumer electronics, medical and industrial markets. Examples of ideal end applications include wireless products for sports/fitness/health/monitoring/networking, digital radios, Bluetooth® wireless audio accessories, low-power Wi-Fi, ZigBee, GPS and a wide array of battery-operated products.

The SST25WF020A, SST25WF040B and SST25WF080B devices are available today for sampling and volume production, in 8-pin SOIC and 8-pin USON (2 x 3 mm) packages.