STMicroelectronics Takes Industry Lead for Speed With Fast 512 Kbit Serial Paged Flash Memory; Features Include a 20-MHz SPI-Compatible Serial Bus And 2.7V to 3.6V Operation.Business Editors GENEVA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3, 2001 STMicroelectronics (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : STM (Scanning Tunneling Microscope) A microscope that can image down to the atomic level. An STM uses a piezoelectric tube with a tiny sharp tip at the end that is moved within nanometers of the object being sampled. ) today announced a fast and easy-to-use 512 Kbit flash memory IC that features sequential and random read operation, page mode programming, sector and bulk erase modes, and a 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. SPI-compatible serial bus. The M25P05 is the second member of the M25Pxx family of serial Flash ICs that reflects a trend away from parallel architectures toward space-saving serial designs. Like its 1 Mbit predecessor, the non-volatile field-programmable 512 Kbit (64 K x 8 bit) M25P05 is well suited for storing code and blocks of data for a broad array of consumer, industrial, medical, and telecommunications products. Target applications for the M25P05 include: digital cameras; voice recorders and talking toys; printers; high-end appliances; learning remote controls; smart keyboards; on-screen on·screen or on-screen adj. & adv. 1. As shown on a movie, television, or display screen. 2. Within public view; in public. displays; hard disk and CD-ROM drives CD-ROM drives, which today typically means a CD-RW drive that is a combo CD-ROM, CD-R and CD-RW drive, come in a variety of speeds. The original drive (1x) transferred data at 150KB per second. ; and SCSI SCSI in full Small Computer System Interface Once common standard for connecting peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, etc.) to small and medium-sized computers. SCSI has given way to faster standards, such as Firewire and USB. , network and graphics add-in cards. Other members of the M25Pxx family with densities of 2, 4, and 8 Mbit are scheduled to be available over the course of the year. The M25P05 contains two sectors of 256 pages each. Because one page is 128 bytes wide, the entire memory can be viewed as 512 pages or 65,536 bytes. The memory's page program instruction writes one to 128 bytes at a time. The entire memory can be erased at once using a bulk erase instruction. Alternatively, one sector at a time can be erased using a sector erase instruction. Instructions are completed quickly, saving time during operation, as well as during production testing and programming. Among the M25P05's industry-leading performance figures are 26ms for a full memory read operation (at 2.7V); 3ms (typical) for 128-byte page programming; and 256 Kbyte sector and 512 Kbyte erase operations of 1s and 2s (typical), respectively. Allowing either random or sequential read operations, the serial memory reduces the number of instructions needed compared to a parallel architecture, simplifying development. The four-wire SPI-compatible serial interface clocks at a top rate of 20MHz. Other features of the M25P05 include a single 2.7V to 3.6V operating voltage, 1uA (typical) deep power-down mode, and an 8-bit electronic signature. Drawing on ST's high-endurance CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss." The most widely used integrated circuit design. It is found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. Flash technology, the M25P05 allows at least 100,000 program-erase cycles per sector. The memory also retains data for at least 20 years and operates at temperatures from -40(0)C to +85(0)C. The M25P05 512 Kbit serial, paged flash memory comes in a 150- or 200-mil-wide SO8 package and is available now. About STMicroelectronics STMicroelectronics is the world's third largest independent semiconductor company. The Company shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. , on Euronext Paris and on the Milan Stock Exchange Milan Stock Exchange The largest regional stock exchange in Italy, facilitating more than 90% of the country's trading volume. . The Company designs, develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs) and discrete devices used in a wide variety of microelectronic applications, including telecommunications systems, computer systems, consumer products, automotive products and industrial automation and control systems. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com. |
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