STMicroelectronics Announces High-Speed Write Memory for Low-Cost Black Box Recorders

Through ultra-fast page-write times for proven non-volatile memory technology
Simplifying Urgent Data Storage Design

Korea, July 5, 2011 – STMicroelectronics ( www.st.com ), a world-leading integrated semiconductor company and a global leader in EEPROM memory for electronic products, announced a new memory product with unique ultra-high-speed recording capabilities that store critical data in the event of a sudden accident. Key applications include system data recovery in the event of a sudden power failure, and "black box" recorders that help identify the cause of equipment failure or accidents.

Systems equipped with M35B32 EEPROM can store a significant amount of critical information (2Kbit) in just 1ms (millisecond), enabling them to respond when a system failure or accident is detected. This ultra-high-speed data storage can store information necessary for system recovery before the power supply voltage drops to an unusable level in the event of a power failure.

Major applications where such high-speed memory is used include games, battery power supplies, meters, smart-grid equipment, industrial systems, and medical devices. Compared to competing non-volatile memories, the M35B32 is approximately 40 times faster than standard 32K-bit EEPROM and provides write speeds equivalent to flash. ST's new memory, which consumes about one-tenth the power of flash, allows designers to specify voltage supply backup capacitors at a level sufficient for the memory to complete writes even if the system power is suddenly cut off. In other words, this means significant savings in both cost and PCB space. Furthermore, the M35B32's EEPROM technology is superior in terms of cost and quality even when compared to high-speed FRAM technology.

The M35B32 provides a 32K-bit capacity divisible into two sectors: an event log and a general-purpose EEPROM. The sector size is user-adjustable to meet various application requirements. The large 256-byte page size enables large amounts of data to be written in a single page-write cycle, and when an event log sector is allocated, this information can be programmed within 1ms. This enhances system performance and reduces software overhead. Since the M35B3 is accessed via a standard SPI serial connection, it can directly replace standard SPI serial memory.

The M35B32 is currently in mass production in SO8N, TSSOP8, and FPN 2mm x 3mm compact surface-mount packages, with a price of $0.65 per unit based on a supply volume of 1,000. Separate pricing is available for bulk orders. The vehicle-certified device is scheduled to be announced in early 2012 and can simplify the design of equipment such as automotive ABS.