Macronix Releases MX30LF SLC NAND Chips of 512 Mb and 1 Gb

There is a new line of single-level cell NAND Flash memory chips running about, one that Macronix International has just officially announced.

The first-generation MX30LF Single-Level Cell (SLC) NAND Flash family, built with a 75 nm floating gate technology, has been formally revealed and is made up of two members, for the time being.

One of them has a capacity of 512 Mb (megabits) while the other has a full 1 Gb (gigabit) of storage space.

They both come with page size of 2 KB + 64 KB, block size of 128 KB + 4 KB, cache program of 2 KB + 64 GB and a wide operating voltage of 2.7 to 3.6 V.

Additionally, they have random access times of 25 us at most, sequential read of 20ns, a page program of 300 us and a block erase time of 2 ms, plus ICC read/program/erase of 30 mA (max.).

Broadcom already has some projects in mind where the MX30LF will find a home.

"Broadcom is committed to high performance and highly integrated broadband CPE solutions. We are pleased to see Macronix launch its latest NAND Flash product family, offering the NAND Flash densities required by system vendors and service providers," said Dr. John Liberati, senior principal scientist, Broadcom Corporation.

SLC NAND chips are too expensive for normal consumers, but their higher reliability make them ideal for enterprise applications.

Macronix also hopes that its new inventions will be used in set-top boxes (STB), TVs, digital cameras, Customer-premises equipment(CPE) and high-end networking, as well as automotive applications and industrial PCs.

“Along with process technology advancements to 1x nm, NAND suppliers today focus their attention on MLC/TLC NAND developments,” said Michael Yang, principle analyst at IHS iSuppli Corporation.

“In comparison, Macronix chooses the SLC NAND to facilitate the niche market supply needs and stability, a strategy that enhances the company's current position in the embedded applications.”