Maxwell product manager Chad Thibodeau said the 29F0408 is among the first such devices to be qualified for use in space environments. As a nonvolatile memory, the part can replace E2PROMs, but is two to four times faster and offers 30 times more density. The flash device features a latchup threshold of 60 mega-electron volts (MeV) per milligram per centimeter squared, and an upset threshold of 37 MeV/mg/cm2. Packaged in the company's own Rad-Pak, the part provides a radiation-dose tolerance in excess of 100 krad (Si) in a typical geosynchronous orbit.

Thibodeau said the flash's compact design takes satellite size and weight considerations into account. It can be used in large, nonvolatile data storage applications such as solid-state recorders and digital voice recorders, and is rated for 1 million program/erase cycles and 10-year data retention. The price is $1,400 in quantities of 10,000.

Back on earth, STMicro-electronics' LightFlash components include the M29KW-016E, M29KW032E and M29-KW064E, offering 16, 32 and 64 Mbits of storage, respectively. These x16 memories are divided into eight, 16 and 32 independently erasable 2-Mbit blocks.

The devices feature standard flash memory command sets, device pinouts and packages, and can be reprogrammed in-system as many as 10,000 times to facilitate code updates during the engineering phase of a product ramp-up and faster code updates during production. Read operations can be performed using a single low-voltage supply from 2.7 to 3.6 V; program and erase operations require an additional 11.4- to 12.6-V power supply.

ST has partitioned the memory into uniform, separately erasable 2-Mbit blocks to allow users to preserve valid data while old data is erased. An on-chip program/erase controller simplifies programming or erasing.

A multiple-word program command based on an embedded fast-programming algorithm can be used to program large streams of data, thus reducing programming time when a large number of data words are written in the memory at once. The command is said to save considerable programming time compared with traditional methods, and to reduce costs by avoiding the need for external preprogramming services.

The 16-Mbit M29KW016E flash is available now for $1.60 in lots of 1,000 units.

Maxwell Technologies
(858) 503.3300
www.maxwell.com

STMicroelectronics
(781) 861 2650
www.st.com