Ramtron International Corporation has launched what’s said to be the semiconductor industry’s first nonvolatile state saver – a device that saves the state of signals on demand and restores them to the correct state automatically upon power up. FRAM technology uniquely enables this capability due to its fast write time and virtually unlimited write endurance.
Ramtron’s new family of low-power, nonvolatile state savers currently has two products: the FM1105, which operates at 5-volts, and the FM1106, which operates at 3-volts. Both devices are available in a small SOT23 package. Additional configurations are planned.
The state saver is as simple to use as a D-type flip-flop. It operates like conventional logic, but stores and retains the logic state in the absence of power, simplifying the design of system control functions. The nonvolatile state saver is ideal for diverse applications such as switch interfaces, relay drivers, LED drivers, recording error flags, power down state detection, nonvolatile counters, tamper indicators, door open indicators, motor on/off control, DIP switch replacement, and jumper replacement, among others.
The low-power nonvolatile state saver provides continuous access to nonvolatile system settings without reading a memory or consuming dedicated processor I/O pins. It enables storage of signals that may change frequently and without notice, and it allows the nonvolatile storage of system settings without the system overhead and extra pins of a serial memory.
The FM1105 operates from 4.5 to 5.5 volts at a low operating current of less than 15 microamps, while changing state continuously at 1 KHz. The FM1106 operates from 2.7 to 3.6 V and boasts a low operating current of less than 5 microamps, while changing state continuously at 1 KHz. Both devices offer an unlimited number of state changes, can run up to 1 MHz, and operate over the industrial temperature range (-40 degrees C to +85 degrees C). Visit www.ramtron.com/statesaver for more product details.
The nonvolatile state saver is ideal for setting the correct state of a relay or switch. During normal operation, the system sets the state saver to control the relay. When power fails, the state saver remembers the last state and restores it automatically and immediately on power up. This allows the relay to power up in the correct state – on or off as the application requires. As a switch replacement, for example DIP switches or jumpers, the nonvolatile state saver allows software to alter switch settings and still have continuous access to the signals even on power up.
Many systems need to capture the indication that an error has occurred. This may be a dangerous condition, a fault with equipment, or other status information. The nonvolatile state saver is the easiest and fastest way to capture and preserve such an event during a power outage. The system indicates the occurrence of an error state to the nonvolatile state saver. This state will be stored on power down and restored automatically on power up. The indication is continuously available and can be used as a control signal, unlike having the data stored in a memory.
