Ramtron International Corporation has upgraded its FM31x Processor Companion family to include a more efficient trickle charger and a real-time clock (RTC) that requires only a standard 12.5pF external watch crystal. The new FM3127x/L27x Processor Companion features 4, 16, 64, or 256 kilobits (Kb) of nonvolatile F-RAM memory, a high-speed two-wire interface, and highly integrated support and peripheral functions for advanced processor-based systems.
Ramtron’s new Processor Companion is a single-chip solution that replaces discrete components and reduces cost and board space in processor-based designs. It supports commonly-needed system functions in a variety of metering, consumer, communications, industrial, and computing applications.
The F-RAM memory on these new Processor Companions boasts NoDelay™ writes, virtually unlimited endurance, and low power consumption. The FM32127x/L27x features an enhanced trickle charger, a 12.5pF external watch crystal, a programmable low-VDD reset, a programmable watchdog timer, a manual reset function, dual battery-backed event counters, a lockable serial number, and a general-purpose comparator that can be used for early warning power-fail interrupts (NMI). The FM31272, FM31274, FM31276, and FM31278 operate from 4.0 to 5.5 volts over the entire industrial temperature range (-40 to +85 degrees C). The FM31L272, FM31L274, FM31L276, and FM31L278 operate from 2.7 to 3.6 volts over the entire industrial temperature range.
