New +125C automotive FRAM memory upgrades Grade 1 data retention specifications
(Technology News, 18 Jun 2007 )
Ramtron International Corporation has expanded its line of FRAM Grade 1 automotive memory products with the qualification of an additional serial FRAM device to operate at +125 degrees Celsius (C). The FM25CL64-GA – a 3-volt, 64-kilobit (Kb) FRAM with a high-speed serial peripheral interface (SPI) – is now Grade 1 AEC-Q100 qualified, making it suitable for automotive applications under the hood, as well as many others in the passenger cab. In tandem with the product announcement, Ramtron upgraded its Grade 1 operating data retention specification to 9,000 hours, and its non-operating specification to 17 years, representing 80% and 17% improvements, respectively.
The FM25CL64-GA is already designed into active steering systems where FRAM is required to store steering angle data quickly and frequently. FRAM’s No Delay writes and virtually unlimited endurance, coupled with a high-speed SPI interface, uniquely enables reliable data writes at maximum bus speed in a variety of automotive applications.
The FM25CL64-GA is a 64Kb nonvolatile RAM with an SPI that operates at up to 16 MHz, enhancing the high-speed write capacity of FRAM technology. Pin-compatible with equivalent EEPROMs, but far superior, this Grade 1 FRAM reads and writes at bus speed up to 20MHz. It boasts essentially unlimited endurance and low power, and is guaranteed to retain data for 9,000 hours at +125C, and 17 years at +55C. The device operates from 3.0-3.6 volts over the automotive temperature range (-40 to +125 degrees C) and is available in a “green” 8-pin SOIC package.
