Toshiba Electronics Europe has developed its first 16bit microcontroller to feature Silicon Storage Technologies’ (SST) SuperFlash memory.
Toshiba Electronics Europe has developed its first 16bit microcontroller to feature Silicon Storage Technologies’ (SST) Superflash memory. The TMP91FY42FG combines a high Flash memory capacity of 256Kbyte with a variety of I/O functions and onboard peripherals. The result is a highly integrated, ultra-low-power device that minimises external component count and gives designers an enhanced level of programming flexibility.

The TMP91FY42FG high-speed 16bit microcontroller is based on Toshiba’s ultra-low-power TLCS-900/L1 processor core and will operate with voltages of between 2.7 and 3.6V.

Minimum instruction execution time is just 148ns at 27MHz.

Three standby modes including a programmable IDLE option further reduce overall power consumption.

Toshiba’s SuperFlash implementation can be programmed much faster than many alternative Flash technologies, while the availability of three distinct programming modes - parallel, serial PROM and in system programming (ISP) - provides for both pre- and post-production programming flexibility.

ISP mode allows upgrades and fixes in the field under control of the user program, removing the need to switch off the output to an LCD panel or active output controls.

Designed for medium- to high-end applications, the new TMP91FY42FG microcontroller features an integrated 10bit, eight-channel analogue-to-digital convertor (ADC), an eight-channel 8bit timer, a two-channel 16bit timer, and a watchdog timer.

I/O functionality includes a two-channel SIO/UART, an I2C interface, support for IrDA version 1.0 (115.2Kbit/s) and 81 I/O ports.

The ultra-low-power TLCS-900/L1 core combines a general-purpose register bank for rapid context switching with a high-speed, four-channel micro-DMA and powerful bit manipulation and arithmetic instructions.

The TMP91FY42FG offers full compatibility with other Toshiba devices based on the TLCS-900/L and TLCS-900/H cores.

In addition to the high-capacity SuperFlash, the new microcontroller’s onboard memory also includes 16Kbyte of internal RAM and 4Kbyte of mask ROM for booting.

External memory expansion to 16Mbyte is fully supported.

The TMP91FY42FG is supplied in a compact 100-pin LQFP package with dimensions of 14 x 14mm.

M-Systems and its subsidiary smart card company Microelectronica have outlined their expanded 2006 M-SIM product roadmap.
M-Systems and its subsidiary smart card company Microelectronica have outlined their expanded 2006 M-SIM product roadmap including the M.MAR series of 2G and 3G SIM cards and the MegaSIM series of high-density SIM cards. As the first part of the new offering, the companies aim to release 512Mbyte M-SIM MegaSIM series SIM cards for trials during Q2 2006 and planned commercial availability in Q3 2006. 1Gbyte M-SIM MegaSIM series SIM cards are planned for rollout by the end of 2006.

This new product roadmap, the first issued since M-Systems’ acquisition of Microelectronica in November 2005, includes products which integrate Microelectronica’s M.MAR SIM software and operating system with M-Systems’ Flash management technology as part of the MegaSIM platform.

M-Systems has been at the forefront of promoting high-density SIM cards in the mobile market.

The new M-SIM MegaSIM series will enable MNOs to offer subscribers a secured product with advanced capabilities, enabling smarter mobile services, such as multimedia content, games, messaging and enterprise applications.

‘The deployment of our M-SIM MegaSIM series SIM cards in 2006 represents a major step forward for the SIM card market and reinforces our commitment to making mobile services smarter’.

‘In addition, this roadmap demonstrates the value of bringing Microelectronica’s secured manufacturing capabilities into the M-Systems family’, said Simone Cavallo, General Manager of M-Systems’ MNO Division.

‘Our ongoing collaboration with major market players as represented by our announcement earlier today with Orange, Oberthur Card Systems and LG Electronics, demonstrates that key players in the mobile network ecosystem see the value and promise of secure, high-density SIM cards’.

‘We believe that the additional functionality of our M-SIM MegaSIM series may provide our partners with new, smarter ways to drive revenue’.

Leveraging M-Systems’ Flash expertise with its field-proven M-Safe crypto core technology, globally trusted in millions of smart cards, the MegaSIM platform, incorporating M-Systems’ TrueFFS Flash file management, combines high-density Flash storage (64Mbyte to 1Gbyte), processing power, high-speed data protocols and crypto functionality.

M-Systems’ MegaSIM platform far enhances typical SIM architecture while maintaining full compatibility with legacy industry standards.

SIM cards powered by M-Systems’ MegaSIM platform, such as M-Systems’ M-SIM MegaSIM series, will provide MNOs with an intuitive, ubiquitous interface and a high-density, high-speed platform.

By deploying these SIM cards, MNOs can increase revenue streams, while at the same time offer a new sales channel for software developers and, last but not least, a smarter mobile usage experience for subscribers.

Total product revenue in the 12 months up to 31st December 2005 at Kingston Technology increased by over 22% to $3 billion.
Kingston Technology, the world’s largest independent memory manufacturer, has revealed that total product revenue up to 31st December 2005 increased by over 22% to $3 billion. This marks the highest revenue growth within a single year for Kingston Technology since the company was founded in 1987. John Tu, cofounder of Kingston Technology comments: ‘Breaking the $3 billion barrier, just a year after exceeding the $2 billion mark, is tremendous’.

Tu continues: ‘Reaching this level of success so soon can only be the result of the support, loyalty and commitment of our vendors, customers and employees’.

After exceeding its first $1 billion in sales in 1995, Kingston Technology has continued to surpass growth expectations - reaching $2.45 billion in sales during 2004, up $0.45 billion on predicted revenues for that year.

Once again, the company has exceeded initial revenue forecasts for 2005 by achieving $3 billion in year-to-date sales.

Kingston Technology attributes continued high performance in several key business areas and a stronger focus on developing memory market segments for global production expansion, as key factors in hitting the $3 billion milestone.

Over recent years, Kingston Technology has also placed considerable emphasis on supporting its Flash memory products and ValueRAM product line of industry-standard memory, while expanding its PC OEM business.

Additionally, Kingston Technology’s HyperX memory continues to be the brand of choice for the high-performance gaming and PC enthusiasts market.

Since its foundation, Kingston Technology has maintained a reputation for quality and expertise in the memory industry and cites its strong relationships with employees, vendors and customers as key to its success.

David Sun, cofounder of Kingston Technology believes: ‘Kingston is built on the relationships we have with our people, partners and customers’.

Sun continues: ‘Having the right components in place and an environment that encourages people to realise their potential, has proven to be a recipe for success’.

In its first year of operation in 1987, Kingston Technology had only two employees and $120,000 in annual sales.

Today the company has more than 2800 employees worldwide, providing support to a growing customer base in over 80 countries.

Microchip has released the world’s first SPI serial EEPROMs in a miniature SOT-23 package.
Microchip has released the world’s first SPI serial EEPROMs in a miniature SOT-23 package. The 25xx010A, 25xx020A and 25xx040A devices extend Microchip’s SPI serial EEPROM product line into high-speed (10MHz), low-density (1-2Kbit) applications. In addition to the SOT-23, the new devices are available in the popular 2 x 3mm DFN package and all standard packages.

They were developed using Microchip’s PMOS electrically erasable cell (PEEC) technology and therefore provide data retention up to 200 years and the best endurance in the industry, with well over one million erase/write cycles in most applications.

Until now, Microchip’s SPI serial EEPROM product line has supported the 4 to 256Kbit density range.

These new devices extend the range into 1 and 2Kbit applications and provide a high-speed version of the current 4Kbit part in the 25xx040A.

With speeds up to 10MHz, the new devices enable designers to take maximum advantage of the high-speed capabilities of the SPIbus.

The 25AA010A and 25LC010A EEPROMs provide 1Kbit of memory density, the 25AA020A and 25LC020A provide 2Kbit, and the 25AA040A and 25LC040A provide 4Kbit, all capable of speeds up to 10MHz.

In addition to the 6-pin SOT-23 and 8-pin DFN packages, all of the new memories are available in 8-pin SOIC, TSSOP, MSOP and PDIP packages.

Because they are all offered in such a broad range of package options, these new devices provide an easy upgrade path for applications requiring small amounts of memory, with high speeds.

Microchip’s SEEVAL 32 serial EEPROM designer’s kit supports development using the 25xx010A, 25xx020A and 25xx040A devices.

The kit is Windows-compliant and includes Microchip’s Total Endurance modelling software, a SEEVAL 32 developer board and user interface software, power supply, RS232 serial cable, serial EEPROM sample pack and quick start users’ guide.

It is available today at www.microchipdirect.com.

Visit http://sample.microchip.com today to sample the 25xx010A, 25xx020A and 25xx040A serial EEPROMs.

Flash memory specialist Spansion has appointed Dario Sacomani as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
Flash memory specialist Spansion has appointed Dario Sacomani as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The appointment of Sacomani, a 23-year veteran of the semiconductor industry and an experienced public company CFO, further enhances Spansion’s leadership team bringing additional expertise and discipline to Spansion as it moves forward as a publicly traded company. ‘Spansion is redefining the Flash memory industry and how customers use and value the technology that powers almost every digital device consumers use - from mobile phones and automobiles to consumer electronics’, said Dr Bertrand Cambou, President and CEO of Spansion.

‘With the addition of Dario Sacomani, we have strengthened our management team with a seasoned executive who will help drive operational efficiency and financial discipline necessary for Spansion to achieve its vision’.

Spansion’s recent transition to an independent public company requires a stringent focus on operational excellence and discipline.

As part of this transition, Spansion is aligning its technology, products, support and business processes with the objective of exceeding customer, partner and shareholder expectations by uniquely delivering added value that enables customers to more quickly and efficiently bring important innovation to their markets.

‘Spansion is a leadership company with a compelling vision and strategy’, said Sacomani.

‘This is an exciting time for the company as Spansion is taking the necessary steps toward long-term financial success’.

‘I am looking forward to playing a key role in helping structure Spansion to achieve its profit and growth objectives’.

Sacomani brings to Spansion a proven track record in developing and executing successful cost savings and capital structure initiatives for public semiconductor companies.

Most recently, Sacomani served as CFO, Senior Vice President and Board Director at Richardson Electronics.

In these roles, he was responsible for developing and overseeing the finance plan to evaluate alternative capital structures, establishing the Sarbanes-Oxley compliance plan and assisting in strategy development and measurement.

Prior to Richardson Electronics, he was Senior Vice President, CFO and Treasurer of ON Semiconductor, which was spun off from Motorola, and where he built the accounting and finance organisations to support a newly public company with responsibilities including entity consolidation, SEC reporting, tax, treasury, internal controls and investor relations.

Sacomani also spent 18 years at Motorola in several finance positions of increasing responsibility within the Semiconductors Products Sector culminating as Vice President and Group Controller of the Semiconductor Components Group.

IDT’s advanced memory buffer (AMB) devices have passed the Intel Corporation validation process and are available to ship in volume.
IDT’s advanced memory buffer (AMB) devices have passed the Intel Corporation validation process and are available to ship in volume. IDT is the first AMB vendor in the industry to achieve this milestone. Enabling fully buffered dual inline memory module (FB-DIMM) solutions, AMB devices help increase the speed and memory capacity of servers and workstations, resulting in improved data-processing capabilities.

Integrated onto an FB-DIMM, the IDT AMB devices handle the buffering, collection and distribution of data for each DIMM in a system, thus serving as an essential building block for next-generation, high-speed servers and workstations.

‘We are pleased to provide leadership in this major server technology transition, extending our track record of excellent support for the server DIMM market’, said Jimmy Lee, Senior Vice President for the IDT Timing Solutions Group.

‘As industry adoption of fully buffered dual inline memory modules increases, our customers and partners can continue to rely on IDT as a first call to satisfy the timing requirements of FB-DIMM technology’.

‘The industry is bringing fully buffered DIMM technology to market to deliver superior reliability and increased memory flexibility in servers and workstations’, said Boyd Davis, General Manager for Server Platforms Group Marketing at Intel.

‘To support the transition to FB-DIMMs, it’s essential to have a robust and diverse set of companies providing the underlying building blocks’.

Toshiba has expanded its comprehensive portable memory card range with the addition of a high capacity 2Gbyte SD card and a 256Mbyte MicroSD card targeted at mobile applications.
Toshiba Electronics Europe has used CeBIT 2006 to announce the expansion of its comprehensive portable memory card range with the addition of a high capacity 2Gbyte SD card and a 256Mbyte MicroSD card targeted at mobile applications. The company has also unveiled a limited addition FIFA World Cup branded 512Mbyte USB Flash memory device, as well as showing other key products including a 1Gbyte high speed, high performance SD card. The new SD and MicroSD cards join a family of products that Toshiba has developed to provide the market’s most comprehensive range of removable memory options for audio, video, and data applications.

The 256Mbyte MicroSD card is the first in a series of Toshiba branded products in the new format and is ideal for mobile phones and other portable electronic devices.

The 1Gbyte high speed, high performance SD card on show at CeBIT delivers a ‘write speed’ of up to 20Mbyte/s, making it ideal for professional users such as photographers requiring continuous shooting operation.

In addition to cards, the Toshiba family includes USB Flash memory, and the new limited edition FIFA World Cup branded 512Mbyte USB product has been produced to mark Toshiba’s role as an official sponsor of this year’s competition.

This special USB FIFA limited edition will be available between May and June at selected major retailers including Euronics RedZac.

Toshiba’s SD cards are available in standard and high-performance options, with high-performance products delivering data transfer rates of up to 20Mbyte/s.

Standard SD cards are now available with capacities of 256Mbyte, 512Mbyte, 1Gbyte and 2Gbyte, and high-speed cards offer capacities of 256Mbyte, 512Mbyte and 1Gbyte.

MiniSD cards feature capacities of 64Mbyte, 128Mbyte, 256Mbyte, 512Mbyte and 1Gbyte.

USB Flash memory products currently available from Toshiba provide a choice of medium- or high-speed operation and are available in storage capacities of 256Mbyte, 512Mbyte, 1Gbyte and 2Gbyte.

Medium-speed products are designed to deliver the memory storage and performance required by a variety of consumer, office and other common applications.

High-speed USB Flash memory is designed to meet the performance demands of professional and other high-end applications where speed of data storage and retrieval is a more critical consideration.

The Toshiba card range is available from a wide variety of major retailers and specialist outlets, including Media Markt and Euronics RedZac in Germany.

Spansion has been named one of ten suppliers of the year by Cisco Systems.
Spansion has been named one of ten suppliers of the year by Cisco Systems. Spansion previously won the award in 1999 and took home the Cisco President’s Award in 2000. ‘Networking OEMs need assurances that the components they use today will be supported, available and operable over the life of the product’, said Ian Williams, Corporate Vice President of Marketing, Embedded Memory Division for Spansion.

‘Our high-quality products and customer service have withstood the test of time, which gives customers like Cisco confidence in Spansion as a strategic supplier’.

Available now from Silicon Power, the company’s 150X 2Gbyte Secure Digital Card uses only original Samsung SLC NAND Flash chips, which enables greater write-speed performance.
Available now from Silicon Power, the company’s 150X 2Gbyte Secure Digital card uses only original Samsung SLC NAND Flash chips, which enables greater write-speed performance. The card features a dual channel design that gives it high-end performance and low-end power consumption. The Silicon Power 150X 2Gbyte Secure Digital card is the reliable choice for performance, capacity, security, and meets all SD Card Association card specifications, and so is 100% guaranteed to be compatible.

Also it comes with an international lifetime warranty and is eligible for certified technical service from any of Silicon Power’s worldwide service centres.

Spansion has licensed the ARM7TDMI-S processor and the SecurCore SC100 processor, enabling it to integrate the ARM processor with its MirrorBit Flash memory on a single die.
Spansion has licensed the ARM7TDMI-S processor and the SecurCore SC100 processor, enabling it to integrate the ARM processor with its MirrorBit Flash memory on a single die. With this licensing agreement, Spansion can design, manufacture and distribute solutions based on the integration of the ARM processors and MirrorBit technology, which can be easily combined with other third-party IP, to increase the performance and differentiation of end products in wireless markets. Integrating strategic logic functions such as the ARM processor into MirrorBit technology will be a core foundation for Spansion’s secure Logic-on-Flash solutions including the recently announced MirrorBit HD-SIM, a new class of secure, high-capacity SIM card chips, which enables SIM card manufacturers to deliver new solutions for managing distribution of mobile content, securing delivery of applications and protecting digital rights management (DRM).

‘The combination of Spansion’s Flash memory management expertise, its logic-friendly and cost-effective MirrorBit technology with our high-performance, low-power ARM processor will result in an advanced design solution for our partners’, said Mike Inglis, Executive Vice President of Marketing, ARM.

‘By licensing the ARM7 family processor and the SecurCore processor, Spansion can expand its high-value Flash memory solutions at economical price points’.

This agreement with ARM reinforces Spansion’s commitment to delivering highly differentiated Flash memory solutions through its logic-on-Flash strategy, which involves joint collaboration and co-development with strategic partners to integrate logic blocks into its MirrorBit Flash memory solutions.

With Spansion’s expanded standard cell-design methodology and its established MirrorBit technology, the company has the ability to easily include significant amounts of logic - over 1000,000 gates - into its Flash designs.

‘We are strategically partnering with companies that can bring increased value to our secure Flash memory solutions’, said Tom Eby, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Sales Officer of Spansion.

‘ARM is a leading provider of processor IP with extensive software support in the wireless market’.

‘By integrating the ARM7 family processor and SC100 processor with our MirrorBit technology, we can satisfy a broad range of needs and enable wireless designers to produce secure and cost-effective solutions’.

With its new Logic-on-Flash portfolio, Spansion expects to offer its customers innovative and cost-effective solutions based on the efficient integration of logic into its 90nm process technology.

Logic on Flash offers solid performance, low power and a more efficient overall footprint.