MRAM Goes Mainstream

Weighing in as the market’s first commercial magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) in volume production, the MR2A16A provides 4 Mb of memory and suits a variety of applications such as networking, security, data storage, gaming, and printers. The part is deemed a reliable and economical replacement for battery-backed SRAM. Other applications include cache buffer and configuration storage. Operating over the commercial temperature range, the 3.3V device comes in a RoHS-compliant, 400-mil., 44-lead plastic TSOP type-II package employing an industry-standard SRAM pinout. It is configured as 256K words by 16 bits with a 35-ns read/write cycle time. Other features include chip enable, write enable, output enable, and separate upper and lower byte-enable pins. In small volumes, price is $25 each. FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR INC., Austin, TX. (800) 521-6274.