NexFlash Introduces 1M-bit Serial Flash Memory for Systems With Limited Power, Pins and Space; Ideal for Code-Download and Battery-Operated Data Storage Applications.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 19, 2001 Alternative to Serial Data Flash and High-End Serial EEPROMs NexFlash Technology, Inc. today announced availability of the first in a family of new Serial Flash Memories ranging from 512Kb to 64Mb in density. The NX25F011B and NX26F011B 1M-bit Serial Flash memories provide a highly efficient non-volatile storage solution for applications with limited power, pins and space. The new Serial Flash products offer the lowest power (less than 2.5mA active and 1 microamp standby) and the simplest interface (2 or 4-pins) of any Flash memories available today. They are offered in a space saving 8-pin SOIC (Small Outline IC) A small-dimension, plastic, rectangular, surface mount chip package that uses gull-wing pins extending outward. See gull-wing lead, SOJ and chip package. as well as in alternate packages such as TSOP (Thin Small Outline Package) A very thin, plastic, rectangular surface mount chip package with gull-wing pins on its two short sides. TSOPs are about a third as thick as SOJ chips. See gull-wing lead, SOP, SOJ and chip package. and removable cards/modules. NexFlash Serial Flash products are targeted at emerging serial code-download and battery-operated data storage applications. "Serial code-download is by far one of the most compelling trends that the low-density Flash market is addressing," said Robin Jigour, vice president of marketing for NexFlash, "As controllers embed more DRAM or SRAM See static RAM. SRAM - static random-access memory , program code can be downloaded upon power-up from external Flash. Ordinary 32 or 48-pin parallel Flash packages impose a significant overhead. By switching to a 2 or 4-pin Serial Flash interface, controller pin count, board space, power, system noise and overall cost can be greatly reduced." Serial Flash is well suited for code-download in a wide range of controller-based applications, including disk drives, DVDs, graphics cards, printers, wireless LANs, DSL DSL in full Digital Subscriber Line Broadband digital communications connection that operates over standard copper telephone wires. It requires a DSL modem, which splits transmissions into two frequency bands: the lower frequencies for voice (ordinary and networking. The ultra-low power consumption of NexFlash Serial Flash memories makes them ideal for battery-operated data storage applications such as internet appliances, electronic toys, medical equipment, data-loggers, meters, hand-held terminals, organizers, pagers, radios and phones. Unlike other low-density Flash memories, NexFlash uses a patented single-transistor EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM) A rewritable memory chip that holds its content without power. Although EEPROMs spawned flash memory, EEPROMs are byte addressable at the write level, whereas flash chips must erase a block of bytes before rewriting. technology that consumes minimal power. "Our new Serial Flash memories operate at power levels as low as 20% of typical Flash," said Jigour of NexFlash, "Additionally, the single-transistor cell makes them a very cost effective alternative to 1Mb, 512Kb and even 256Kb Serial EEPROMs." The NX25F011B and NX26F011B Serial Flash memories operate with a single 5V or 3V (2.7-3.6V) power supply for erase, write and read operations. Active power consumption levels are as low as 7.5mW (2.5mA active @ 3V) with stand-by power at less than 1 microamp. The NX25F011B supports the popular 4-pin Serial Peripheral Interface (communications, hardware) Serial Peripheral Interface - (SPI) A serial interface in which a master device supplies clock pulses to exchanges data serially with a slave over two data wires (Master-Slave and Slave-Master). (SPI (1) (Stateful Packet Inspection) See stateful inspection. (2) (Service Provider Interface) The programming interface for developing Windows drivers under WOSA. bus) found on many microcontrollers. The NX26F011B provides a 2-pin (NXS bus) clock and data interface. The Serial Flash array is organized as 512 sectors of 264-bytes each. Data can be read at rates of up to 20MHz (MegaHertZ) One million cycles per second. It is used to measure the transmission speed of electronic devices, including channels, buses and the computer's internal clock. A one-megahertz clock (1 MHz) means some number of bits (16, 32, 64, etc. . Other features include on-chip SRAM buffer, byte addressing and hardware/software write protection. Pin-outs for 8-pin SOIC and 28-pin TSOP are compatible with some popular Serial Data Flash products. Serial Flash and Development Kit Pricing The NX25F011B (SPI bus) and NX26F011B (NXS bus) Serial Flash memories are priced at $1.30 in 10,000 unit quantities. The SFK SFK Something for Kate (Australian band) SFK Shadowfang Keep (World of Warcraft instance) SFK Svenska Förbundet för Kvalitet (Swedish Quality Society) Serial Flash Development Kit, priced at $149, interfaces to a PC parallel port and provides a hardware and software tool for designing and prototyping with NexFlash's Serial Flash products. About NexFlash NexFlash Technologies, Inc. designs and markets Specialty Flash Memory Products for today's emerging applications. NexFlash was founded in October 1998 when Integrated Silicon Solution, Inc. (ISSI ISSI International Space Science Institute ISSI Inter-Switching System Interface ISSI International Society for Self and Identity ISSI International Society for Skin Imaging (Bochum, Germany) ISSI Internet Security Systems Inc. ) spun-off its Flash memory operations into a privately held company privately held company A firm whose shares are held within a relatively small circle of owners and are not traded publicly. focusing solely on Flash. NexFlash holds numerous patents on its technology and licenses its intellectual property for use in embedded Flash applications. NexFlash has established strategic alliances and partnerships with Winbond Electronics, Sharp Corporation, ISSI and Chartered Semiconductor. For more information please visit the NexFlash website at http://www.nexflash.com |
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