Serial Flash Enters High-Reliability Market

For reliability-critical, wide-temperature applications, the 1-Mb M25P10-A, 2-Mb M25P20, and 4-Mb M25P40 are thought to be the first serial flash memory chips tough enough for automotive environments. They are Automotive Grade certified, qualified to AEC-Q100, and are tested through the company's proprietary high-reliability certified-flow procedure to guarantee operation from -40°C to +125°C. Maintaining access at frequencies up to 25 MHz, the devices integrate a standard 4-wire SPI bus and operate on a 2.7V to 3.6V supply. Other features include a 1-µA power down, minimum data-retention period of 20 years, 10,000-cycle write endurance, and the ability to be programmed from 1 to 256 bytes at a time. Available in S08 packages, prices range from $0.95 to $1.40 each in volume. STMICROELECTRONICS, Lexington, MA. (888) 787-3550.