Features - Storage Innovations:

SST ANNOUNCES PRODUCTION OF 8-Mbit SERIAL PERIPHERAL INTERFACE

SST (Silicon Storage Technology Inc), a leader in flash memory technology, announced production availability of its 8-Mbit Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) serial flash memory device, the SST25LF080A. Based on SST's proprietary, high-performance SuperFlash technology, the SST25LF080A is the latest addition to the successful 25 Series of serial flash memory products. Ideal for such applications as hard disk drives, printers, security systems, industrial controls, 802.11a/b/g and wired networking equipment, SST's 8-Mbit serial flash device features a 33-MHz max clock frequency and a typical standby current of only 8 microamperes, thus significantly improving performance while lowering power consumption. The 33-MHz clock frequency has also been extended to SST's 2-Mbit and 4-Mbit serial flash devices, which are also currently available in volume production. The company expects to add the 33-MHz speed option to the 1-Mbit and 512-Kbit serial flash devices in the second half of 2004.

SST's 8-Mbit serial flash device offers several advantages not available in alternative solutions, including an Auto Address Increment (AAI) operation and small sector erase capability. The 8-Mbit serial flash memory device is offered in a small footprint, 8-pin SOIC package with 200 mils body width.

"Our 8-Mbit serial flash memory devices offer an optimum balance of features, performance and package size for a variety of applications," said Michael Briner, senior vice president of SST's Application Specific Product Group. "Delivering our 8-Mbit serial flash devices in a 33-MHz max clock frequency and in an 8-pin package enables SST to deliver a high-performance serial flash solution that helps reduce overall system cost by saving board space and eliminating costly redesigns with density migration."

SST's serial flash memory products incorporate a four-wire, SPI-compatible interface. When compared to other nonvolatile memory interfaces, the SPIinterface serial flash products use fewer pins to transfer data to and from a system CPU, thereby creating an overall reduction in board space, power consumption and cost. Like all of SST's products based on SuperFlash technology, the SST25LF080A features small sector erase capability, allowing designers to seamlessly partition code or data into 4KB sectors, resulting in faster write times and an overall increase in system performance. Because of its low power consumption and small footprint, the SST25LF080A is an ideal code storage solution in applications such as hard disk drives, wireless and networking equipment.

SST's 8-Mbit serial flash memory devices feature a unique AAI fastprogramming mode, enabling a reduction in total flash memory programming time by up to 50 percent when compared to single-byte programming modes. The AAI program instruction allows multiple bytes of serial flash memory to be programmed without re-issuing subsequent addresses and commands after the first data byte program sequence. As a result, new programs can be loaded into flash using fewer commands, thus reducing programming times. This advantage is especially useful during the manufacturing process, where fast production line throughput is essential.

SST's 25 Series of serial flash memory products range in density from 512 Kbit to 16 Mbit, all containing the same footprint, providing customers with a seamless migration path to higher densities for their systems. This capability allows designers to create product lines with new levels of functional flexibility and dramatically lower system costs when compared to systems using parallel flash products housed in traditional 32-pin or 48-pin packages.