Adesto offers new non-volatile serial flash memory

USA: Adesto Technologies announced the launch of the DataFlash “E”-series, a new family of non-volatile memory devices with lower power requirements and smart features for higher system efficiency and lower system costs.

At introduction, the family includes 2 Mb, 4 Mb, 16 Mb and 32 Mbit memory devices, with 8 Mb and 64 Mb devices in development

For battery-operated, mobile and other energy conscious applications, the DataFlash E-series offers a range of features and options including industry-first capabilities such as wide VCC voltage and an “ultra-deep power down” mode. With a Vcc range of 1.65V to 3.6V, the new DataFlash family not only uses less power during standard operation but also offers designers the ability to capture data at lower voltage -- maximizing the reserves of on-board capacitors and batteries.

These low-power operating capabilities mean systems and applications enhanced with DataFlash serial memory can operate from unregulated battery supplies and may not require low drop out or boost regulators to manage the power supply rail in power-failure situations, thereby reducing or eliminating associated costs.

In addition, the new DataFlash E-Series products feature an ultra-deep power down mode, allowing the device to function with a class leading operating standby current of less than 400 nanoamps -- an order of magnitude improvement over standby modes available today.

The E-Series products include new “smart”  features to improve system performance such as  efficient “byte-write” that doesn’t require large block erase, and an industry-standard “erase-program-suspend-resume” command allowing concurrent read-while-write operations.

“The DataFlash E-Series products have a flexible command-rich architecture to allow hardware and software engineers to do more without writing complicated operating code,” said Paul Hill, director of Product Marketing. DataFlash E-Series devices with their intelligent internal algorithms automatically manage internal programming and erase tasks, reducing CPU overhead by offloading burdensome memory management tasks.

This capability can apply from a single byte write to programming an unlimited number of data pages, making the DataFlash E-Series the only Serial Flash device with true serial EEPROM functionality.

DataFlash E-Series power management and efficient operating features make DataFlash-enabled systems among the most cost-effective systems available. By offloading tasks to the DataFlash’s internal SRAM buffers, hardware engineers avoid upgrades to more expensive microcontrollers with larger, embedded or external SRAM memories and preserve microcontroller SRAM space for system critical operations.

“Smart DataFlash features translate to less CPU time to manage read-write-erase tasks on the memory, less energy consumption and lower development costs for device operation and integration,” said Hill.  “Lower power operation and smaller CPU requirements also provide opportunities to lower overall system cost and complexity by reducing the need for larger capacitors and batteries.”

The DataFlash E-Series, with its comprehensive feature set, supports Adesto’s commitment to offer differentiated memory solutions to address our customers’ requirements and needs for code and data storage applications,” said VP of Marketing, Ishai Naveh. “Its intelligent features provide added value to design engineers –value that translates to real cost-savings and improved performance over competing products.”

Adesto’s Serial Flash devices are used in a broad range of industrial, computer, communications, security, medical and consumer electronics. For system developers with designs currently using previous DataFlash versions, the E-Series devices are backward compatible, providing direct integration without additional development time and cost. The product suite also features comprehensive security and unique identification features to protect and prevent the devices from outside tampering.