In space, the ability to hold critical mission data for decades at a time is vital—a task that often falls to radiation-hardened erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) semiconductor devices. Without excessive shielding, rewrite circuits, or climate controls, the devices must live up to rather high standards. A new EEPROM semiconductor from Northrop Grumman recently completed qualification testing for such space applications.
The W28C0108 1-Mbit EEPROM includes latch-up immune operation, 10,000+ endurance cycles, less than 250-ns READ access time, 300-krad (Si) total ionizing dose, and Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) pin-compatibility in the center 32 pins. It also features 100-ms programming time and 3.3-V (VDD) read operation. Based on the company’s existing 256-kB EEPROM part (W28C256), the device is a 128-kb by 8-bit CMOS EEPROM operating across the full military temperature range.
The device underwent dynamic life testing at 150°C for 1000 hours, in addition to heavy ion latch-up and other testing. Results showed that memory retention at 125°C could last for more than 200 years. Alongside its military use, the device supports a variety of features for commercial applications, including self-timed programming, combined erase/write, auto program start, asynchronous addressing, and data polling.