SERIAL NAND FLASH MEMORY WITH NEW 1GBIT DEVICE OFFERING MAXIMUM DATA-TRANSFER RATE OF 83MB/S

08. May 2019 | Planegg

Reliable, lower-cost alternative to SPI NOR Flash for automotive displays and instrument clusters

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The High-Performance Serial NAND Flash memory IC offers a new high data-transfer rate of 83MB/s via a Quad Serial Peripheral Interface (QSPI). It also supports a two-chip dual quad interface which gives a maximum data transfer rate of 166MB/s. This high-speed read operation, some four times faster than existing serial NAND memory devices, means that the new W25N01JW chip can replace SPI NOR Flash memory in automotive applications such as data storage for instrument clusters or the Center Information Display (CID).

This is important for automotive OEMs because the adoption of more sophisticated graphics displays in the instrument cluster, and larger display sizes of 7” and above in the CID, is increasing system memory requirements to capacities of 1Gbit and higher. At these capacities, serial NAND Flash has a markedly lower unit cost than neither SPI NOR Flash, and occupies a smaller board area per Mbit of storage capacity.

SPI NOR Flash has been the preferred memory technology in automotive displays for many years because of its high read speed, which supports the fast boot requirements of automotive user interfaces, and because of its high reliability and long data retention. By raising the data transfer rate of its serial NAND technology to 83MB/s – matching the read speed of automotive SPI NOR Flash – Winbond has ensured that the W25N01JW can support fast boot operation and the demanding requirements of sophisticated graphics applications. The W25N01JW also meets strict automotive requirements for quality and reliability. Built with high-reliability Single-Level Cell (SLC) memory technology, and implementing 1-bit Error Correction Code (ECC) on all Read and Write operations, it complies with the endurance, retention and quality requirements of the AEC-Q100 standard and relevant JEDEC specifications.

The serial NAND Flash W25N01JW device operates from -40°C to +105°C and retains data for 10 years at 85°C after 1,000 Program/Erase cycles - whereas eMMC can only retain data for a fraction of that time under these conditions even when used in SLC mode, which are today widely used for data storage in the CIDs of high-end vehicles.

The W25N01JW is available for sampling today in a capacity of 1Gbit. A two-chip implementation in Dual Quad I/O mode provides 2Gbits of memory capacity and a maximum data transfer rate of 166MB/s. The chip is available in Industrial Grade and in an extended-temperature Automotive Grade version operating at up to 105°C. It is compatible with standard SPI NAND Flash protocols. It is housed in standard 8mm x 6mm WSON and TFBGA packages that are footprint-compatible with standard SPI NOR Flash products.