16-Mbit Flash Memories Are Touted As Industry's Fastest

The industry's fastest read-access time for a 16-Mbit flash memory- 55 ns- is offered by the Multi-Purpose Flash family of SuperFlash products. The memories eliminate the need for additional shadow RAMs, resulting in lower overall system cost. Devices range in density from 4 to 16 Mbits and are offered in both x16 and x8 configurations. They use a single voltage of 2.7V to 3.6V for read, program and erase operations. Also, the Q version devices can interface with 3V systems, as well as legacy systems and new designs that continue to use 5V I/O. Another key feature of SuperFlash technology is its small, uniform sector architecture of 4 kbytes, which provides better software granularity to system designers. The memories also offer a large, uniform block erase capability for faster erase operation. Access times are 55 ns at 3V and 70 and 90 ns at 2.7V.