Silicon Storage Technology, Inc, SPI Serial Flash Memory

SST Unveils Industry's Thinnest and Smallest SPI Serial Flash Memory in a Z-Scale Package

News Release from: Silicon Storage Technology
10/08/2006

SST (Silicon Storage Technology, Inc.) a leader in flash memory technology, today announced an advanced Z-Scale Package™ (XFBGA) solution that enables customers to develop a wide range of revolutionary products based on the industry's smallest and thinnest form factor serial flash. The new ultra-thin Z-Scale Package is available for the SST25VF family of serial flash devices in densities ranging from 512 Kbit to 4 Mbit. With a maximum total height of only 0.4 mm and an area as small as 3mm2 (dependent on memory density), SST's Z-Scale Package is ideal for use in space- and height-constrained portable electronics, such as MP3 players, cell phones, camera modules and Bluetooth devices.

The new Z-Scale Package is a true wafer-level package, utilizing multi-layer metal interconnect and routing techniques. This level of interconnection redistributes the bonding pads of each chip evenly to external bumps that can be connected directly to the circuit board. This Z-Scale Package is ideal for SST's "low pin count" SPI Serial products for minimizing required board real estate and maximizing overhead clearance in aggressive physical designs. The Z-Scale Package is compatible with existing SMT (surface mount technology) infrastructures, requiring minimal investment on the part of manufacturers. In addition, by using the same footprint for serial flash devices ranging from 512 Kbit through 4 Mbit densities, the Z-Scale Package provides an easy migration path for customers as their memory requirements change.

"Today's most popular consumer electronic devices, such as MP3 players, cell phones and digital cameras are moving towards smaller, thinner and lighter products," said Douglas Lee, vice president of SST's Application Specific Memory Products group. "The Z-Scale Package strategy for our 25 Series serial flash devices is perfectly in tune with the direction of the portable electronics market. Leveraging our new package solution, customers can achieve ultra-portable designs that are impossible with standard sized serial flash packages. In addition, the pin count reduction and significant board space savings enabled by the Z-Scale Package provide designers more room to increase functionality in their products, which is especially critical in the fast-paced consumer electronics market."