Product category:
Memory Devices and Modules
News Release from: Spansion | Subject: RS Flash memory devices
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 11 November 2004
Mobile memory scales from 16Mbit to
5Gbit
Spansion has announced plans for new Flash memory devices that will simplify mobile phone design with a single Flash memory platform.
As part of its strategic MirrorBit technology initiatives, Spansion has announced plans for a new family of Flash memory devices that will simplify mobile phone design with a single Flash memory platform capable of delivering combined code and data storage from 16Mbit to 5Gbit This single platform concept will allow handset manufacturers to incorporate advanced multimedia capabilities such as photos, video and music in the same handset platform that also provides simple voice and SMS text messaging services
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 4 Jun 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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It will also help mobile phone makers lower their overall development costs, achieve faster time to market for new products, and better allocate engineering resources to produce a wide range of phone designs.
Based on the density-doubling MirrorBit technology, the forthcoming "RS family" of devices is designed to offer the high reliability and read performance expected from NOR-type products with die sizes that rival those of alternative NAND-type products.
Starting with an initial 1.8V, 512Mbit product planned for early 2005, Spansion's data storage platform will enable cellphone manufacturers to design complete MirrorBit technology-based memory subsystems for both code and data storage at densities from as low as 16Mbit on the market now to as high as 5Gbit expected for 2007.
Further reading
Next-generation ORNAND targets NAND applications
MirrorBit ORNAND2 architecture will use a SONOS-like memory cell connected in a NAND memory array at 45nm, featuring fast write performance with high packing density.
NOR Flash is ready for Chinese handset designs
Prequalification of Flash memory will enable manufacturers to get cost-effective, high-performance phones to market faster in China and other high-growth regions.
Handset Flash is made for emerging markets
The NOR VS family will enable handset OEMs to introduce simplified, high-performance entry-level phones for regions with rapid new subscriber growth.
"Our customers choose MirrorBit technology due to its proven reliability, very fast read performance, and value-added features?, said Amir Mashkoori, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Spansion's Wireless Business Unit.
"With our wireless data storage strategy, our customers will be able to stay with the technology they prefer and scale from entry-level, voice-centric phones to high-end 3G video phones, all while using a single platform?.
Because memory can represent up to 40% of a phone's bill of materials, designers demand solutions that combine high performance with solid reliability and competitive cost, while scaling densities up or down based on the features of any phone model.
The upcoming Spansion data storage solution will provide this needed flexibility by pairing multiple densities of code-optimised Flash memory with high-density, data-optimised storage memory.
The result will be a broad selection of Flash densities, each ideal for specific phone models.
Mobile handsets are evolving rapidly.
Spansion expects that Flash memory requirements for mainstream phones will jump from about 150Mbit per phone in 2004 to over 500Mbit in 2007.
High-end phones require even more Flash memory, from about 750Mbit today to an estimated 5Gbit and beyond in 2007.
A portion of this memory is used to store code, including operating system instructions that allow the phone to run properly, as well as downloadable applications that increase the phone's functionality.
There is also an increasing need for lower cost, higher density Flash memory for "data" storage, sometimes in conjunction with a dedicated applications processor, for photos, video and other multimedia content created by the handset camera or downloaded from service providers.
Spansion's upcoming RS family is designed to meet these requirements in a single form factor with a consistent interface to save space and accelerate phone design.
Spansion will introduce its data storage devices in stacked multi-chip products (MCPs) to support a wide variety of mobile phone designs and minimise circuit board space requirements.
Spansion expects to begin sampling multiple MCP configurations, featuring up to 1.25Gbit of Flash memory, in Q1 2005.
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