Ramtron’s 4-Megabit F-RAM memory wins Product of the Year Award from Electronic Products China

“The Ramtron team is very proud of this accolade from Electronic Products China,” said Alex Tsui, Ramtron’s Area Director, Asia Pacific. “The FM22L16 moves F-RAM technology onto a leading-edge 130-nanometer manufacturing process developed in cooperation with Texas Instruments (TI). F-RAM is an ideal nonvolatile memory solution with potential to alter the memory landscape, especially on TI’s F-RAM-optimized CMOS process, which offers many new stand-alone and integrated product opportunities. It is very encouraging for the FM22L16 to be acknowledged by EPC’s highly regarded editorial panel.”

The FM22L16 is the highest density F-RAM product to date. A 4Mb, 3-volt, parallel nonvolatile RAM in a 44-pin thin small outline plastic (TSOP) package, the FM22L16 features fast access, virtually unlimited read/write cycles, and low power consumption. Pin-compatible with asynchronous static RAM (SRAM), the 4Mb F-RAM targets industrial control systems such as robotics, network and data storage applications, multi-function printers, auto navigation systems, and a host of other SRAM-based system designs.

The FM22L16 is organized as a 256K x 16 nonvolatile memory, accessed with an industry standard parallel interface. Access time is 55ns and cycle time is 110ns. The device reads and writes at bus speed for NoDelay™ writes with endurance of at least 1e14 (100-trillion) writes, and 10-year data retention.

The 4Mb F-RAM is a drop-in replacement for standard asynchronous SRAMs, but far superior as it does not need a battery to back up data, which significantly improves component and system reliability. Unlike battery-backed SRAM, the FM22L16 is a true surface-mount solution that does not require rework steps for battery attachment and is not jeopardized by moisture, shock, and vibration.

With an industry-standard parallel interface to current high performance microprocessors, the FM22L16 features a high-speed page mode that enables a peak bandwidth of 80-megabytes/second, providing one of the fastest nonvolatile memory solutions on the market. The device boasts a lower operating current than standard SRAMs, drawing 18 milliamps for reads/writes, and an ultra low current sleep mode of 5 microamps. It operates from 2.7 to 3.6 volts over the industrial temperature range (-40 degrees C to +85 degrees C).