Thanks to a new packaging, the microcontroller has a much smaller footprint

Sep 10, 2007 09:56 GMT  ·  By

Silicon Storage Technology, better known as SST, is a computer hardware manufacturing company which is specialized in flash memory technology and related products. Today, the SST company announced the launch of a new flash memory microcontroller which will be part of the popular and widely used family of SuperFlash-based FlashFlex line of products.

The FlashFlex line is a family of microcontrollers based on an 8-bit internal architecture, which are directly compatible with the 8051 standard. The new product, called SST89V54RD-33-C-QIF, is taking advantage of a newly integrated circuit packaging method and it comes in a small form factor of only 6mm x 6mm, using a WQFN package, which makes it the smallest 8051 compatible circuit in the world. As the SST89V54RD-33-C-QIF microcontrollers are built largely for mobile computers and electronics systems, it comes with a reduced energy footprint, being the ideal choice for "notebook PCs, MP3 players and GPS systems, as well as home entertainment devices including HDMI products", according to the press release posted by the manufacturing company. Another important feature of the new flash memory microcontroller is the fact that it supports in-system programming (ISP) and in-application programming (IAP), which allows for a greater in use flexibility.

"As the sophistication of mobile devices increases, size reduction and low power consumption become even larger issues for product design teams", said Paul Lui, senior vice president of the Standard and Special Product Group at SST and president of SST China. "The new thin and powerful SST89V54RD was designed to help our customers meet the size, power and performance requirements of next-generation portable consumer electronic devices."

Apart from a reduced surface area, the new SST microcontroller features a low profile and its maximum height is only 0.8mm, being the ideal choice for applications where space is a real problem. As it supports both IAP and ISP programming methods, the SST89V54RD-33-C-QIF chip allows users to update the flash device through specialized applications, while the low cost and easy manufacture of the IAP and ISP features are coupled with better user experiences and convenience to consumers. Engineering samples of the SST SST89V54RD-33-C-QIF FlashFlex microcontroller are available now; it is priced at $1.20 per unit in 10K unit quantities.