14 DAY TRIAL // STMicroelectronics, a computer hardware company that specializes itself in the manufacture of flash based memory chips, announced today the immediate availability of a new circuit, the M25PX32, that is the first of the Serial Flash memory circuits to come with Dual I/O. The former family of circuits, the M25PE, stood up because of its high granularity, while the new M25PX family stands out thanks to its guaranteed high-speed performance according to the producer's press release.
The M25PX32 family of Serial Flash memory chips is made using the patented 0.11um process technology and it represents a natural step in improving the performance of the older M25P sub-sector Serial Flash family as the new line features an improved speed as well as new technical specifications like the Dual I/O which allows it to reach a high speed of operation over the entire supply voltage range. The new Serial Flash memory chips also stand out through their increased reliability and guaranteed full-temperature performance as they are designed for applications that need higher clock frequencies, reaching up to 75Mhz with a power supply interval between 2.7 and 3.6V, while functioning without any problems through the -40 degrees to 85 degrees C industrial temperature range.
The use of the Dual I/O architecture is a step forward as it allows the system to double the data transfer bandwidth during the fast read phase, the dual output command effectively clocking the NOR at the equivalent of 150MHz. Another advantage of the Dual I/O approach is that both input and output pins are used for programming the memory, allowing for a faster programming phase. The new M25PX32 circuit provides a number of integrated security and protection features like the over voltage protection after power up and a memory area of 64 bytes that is one time programmable and which can be used to set the entire memory as a read only one. According to the company, samples of the new Serial Flash memory chip are available in three distinct packages options like the S08W, MLP8 and SO16W, while volume production is due to start in the fourth quarter of the year.