Nexcom Announces High Density SPI Serial Flash Memories with On-Chip SRAM.SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 28, 1996--Nexcom Technology, Inc. announced today the first two members of its new family of high density Serial Flash memory devices with the popular 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. ). Additionally, the devices incorporate an on-chip Serial SRAM See static RAM. SRAM - static random-access memory that can be used in conjunction with, or independent of, the Flash memory. The NX25F040 and NX25F080 Serial Flash memories respectively provide four and eight megabits of high density, low voltage Low voltage is an electrical engineering term that broadly identifies safety considerations of an electricity supply system based on the voltage used. While different definitions exist for the exact voltage range covered by "low voltage", the most commonly used ones include "mains and low-power Flash memory, fully accessible through a simple 4-pin SPI port. Based on the company's NexFLASH technology, with 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. cell, the new Serial Flash devices are tailored for emerging media-storage applications where Flash memory is used to transfer and store data, audio/voice and images in a portable or mobile environment. Applications include digital cameras, voice/data pagers, voice recorders A digital, handheld device that is used to record short reminders. Very lightweight and typically using AAA batteries, such devices use flash memory to hold up to 100 messages and more. Messages can be retrieved sequentially or by direct access by message number. See microcassette. , mobile answering machines, hand-held terminals and meters, medical monitors, environmental data-loggers and wireless fax/modems. "Flash memory is entering a new applications phase that is changing the way designers must select and work with Flash," said Robin Jigour, vice president of marketing, Nexcom Technology, Inc. "Unlike traditional uses of Flash, emerging media-storage applications tend to be battery operated, are very write-intensive, and often use single-chip microcontrollers or DSPs. Nexcom's new SPI Serial Flash memories with on-chip SRAM are ideal for such applications." Operating with a 5V or 3V power supply at active power consumption levels as low as 15mW, the 25F040 and 25F080 offer small 536-byte sectors that program quickly, thus maximizing battery life. Respectively organized as 1024 and 2048 individually byte-addressable sectors, the serial Flash memory is easily accessed by popular SPI port microcontrollers. Commands such as read, write, write-enable and write-disable are serial shifted over the 4-pin SPI port comprised of a clock (SCK SCK Studiecentrum voor Kernenergie (Belgium) SCK Serial Clan Killers (gaming clan) SCK Sport Club Kriens (Switzerland) SCK Street Combat Karate (Germany) ), chip select (CS), serial data input (SI) and serial data output (SO). Data can be transferred to and from the device 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. . Typical program times are as fast as 2.5ms/sector (5ms max), allowing for sustained programming rates of over 200K bytes/sec including erase time. Special Features for Media-Storage Applications Besides offering a high density, low power and interface efficient Serial Flash solution, the 25F040 and 25F080 are also packed with a wide variety of special media-storage features, including: -- 536-Byte Serial SRAM - Offloads RAM-limited microcontrollers, use as buffer, scratchpad, look-up tables look-up table n (COMPUT) → tabla de consulta look-up table n (Comput) → table f à consulter look-up table n ( -- Byte-Level Addressing - Address single or multiple bytes in the SRAM or any sector, saves processor time -- Double Buffered Sector Writes - No wait during programming, eliminates need for external RAM buffering -- Transfer Sector to SRAM - Automatically transfers sector data to SRAM, no temporary storage needed -- Compare Sector to SRAM - Automatically compares sector data to SRAM, no temporary storage needed -- Advanced Write Protection - Protects data for all or groups of sectors, better system reliability and security -- Hold pin - Suspends current operation to free SPI port for other uses -- Ready/Busy - Program status for hardware interrupt A signal created and sent to the CPU that is caused by some action taken by a hardware device. For example, keystroke depressions and mouse movements cause hardware interrupts. See IRQ and interrupt. or software polled systems -- DOS Compatible Sector Size - Eases use of DOS-based file structures (512-bytes + 24 for sector management) -- Auto-Erase before Write - No pre-erase, simplifies firmware A category of memory chips that hold their content without electrical power. Firmware includes flash, ROM, PROM, EPROM and EEPROM technologies. When holding program instructions, firmware can be thought of as "hard software." See flash memory, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM and FOTA. , provides fast and consistent programming times -- User-Selected Internal Oscillator oscillator Mechanical or electronic device that produces a back-and-forth periodic motion. A pendulum is a simple mechanical oscillator that swings with a constant amplitude, requiring the addition of energy at each swing only to compensate for the energy lost because of air Frequency - Reduces possible interference in mobile wireless applications -- Electronic Part Number Identification - Firmware can accept variety of densities and device options First Two in a Family of Serial Flash Memories The 25F040 and 25F080 are the first two of six compatible Serial Flash SPI devices that Nexcom is introducing over the next year. "Media-storage applications often need a family of products with a range of storage capacities and price points to meet varying market needs," said Robin Jigour. "Our Serial Flash family, with planned densities from 1M-bit to 16M-bit, allows designers to start with our 4M-bit or 8M-bit devices and easily adapt designs to accommodate alternate density or cost requirements." The NexFLASH NX25F040 and NX25F080 Serial Flash Memory are available in a variety of voltage, speed and test grades, and come in small-pin-out compatible 24/28 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. packages with 50 mil An Internet address domain name for a military agency. See Internet address. (networking) mil - The top-level domain for entities affiliated with US armed forces. pin-to-pin spacing. Pricing is $7.79 and $12.64 in high volume quantities for a typical grade of device. Lead times range from eight to 16 weeks depending on specific device options. About Nexcom Technology Nexcom Technology, Inc. designs, manufactures and markets advanced Flash memory IC products tailored for emerging "media-storage" applications. The company's patented state-of-the-art NexFLASH technology and products are ideal for designers of computer, communication, industrial, and consumer electronics systems requiring data, audio/voice and image storage in a portable/mobile environment. 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. , Nexcom announced their entrance into the Serial Flash memory market in December 1995. For further information about the complete family of NexFLASH products, write or call Nexcom Technology; 532 Mercury Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94086; telephone 408/730-3690 ext. 49; fax 408/720-9258. -0- Note to Editors: NexFLASH(TM) technology is a trademark of Nexcom Technology, Inc. Images and diagrams are available by contacting Deborah Porchivina at 415-893-8183. CONTACT: Nexcom Technology Inc., Sunnyvale Robin Jigour, 408/732-8553 or Porchivina & Associates Deborah Porchivina, 415/893-8183 email: debPAPR@aol.com |
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