Silicon Storage Technology (SST) has introduced the 26 Series Serial Quad I/O (SQI) family of 4-bit multiplexed I/O serial interface flash memory devices. The 26 Series' low pin count and enhanced serial interface architecture help the family to be a suitable code storage solution for applications such as low-cost handsets, Bluetooth headsets, optical disk drives and GPS devices, where small form factor, low power consumption and high data rate are required. With a fast 80 MHz operating frequency and instruction set, SST's 26 Series SQI flash devices target execute-in-place (XIP) applications, allowing programs to be stored and executed directly from the flash memory without the need for code shadowing on an SRAM.
The 26 Series SQI devices feature a 4-bit multiplexed serial interface architecture and up to a 350 Mbit/sec sustained burst data rate that provides high performance. The 26 Series supports 8-, 16-, 32- and 64-Byte burst mode operation with wrap around, which reduces the memory's read access time, as well as memory index jumping, which reduces the number of input clock cycles. All products in the 26 Series family use a small-outline, 8-pin package.
The 26 Series SQI devices offer memory write performance enhancements to improve overall device performance, including flexible erase capability to erase small block sectors on the chip in as little as 25 ms or the entire flash memory chip in 50 ms. The devices also support write suspend and resume operation so a program can suspend a write operation to access another block of memory within the same clock cycle.
Code security was also improved in the development of SST's 26 Series SQI flash memory. All devices in the family support software write protection for individual blocks, the upper and lower 64-KBytes of memory are partitioned into smaller 8-KByte sectors that can both read- and write-lock. In addition, the devices include a one-time programmable secure ID area, consisting of a 64-bit factory programmed unique ID and a 192-bit user programmable block.
Products in the 26 Series are based on SST's proprietary, high-performance SuperFlash technology. The 26 Series SQI devices offer high reliability of 100,000 cycles endurance and greater than 100 years data retention. The active read current of the devices is 15 mA and standby current is 0 µA. All 26 Series SQI devices are available in both commercial and industrial temperature ranges, and are offered in an 8-contact WSON (6 mm x 5 mm) or 8-lead SOIC (200 mil) package. The first product in the 26 Series SQI family is the 16 Mbit, 3.0V SST26VF016. Samples of the product will be available next month, with volume production scheduled for Q4 2008.
