The CellularRAM co-development team of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation, Infineon Technologies and Micron Technology announced the availability of 32 Megabit (Mb) CellularRAM devices for wireless handsets. Samples are available in both asynchronous and burst modes.

Last year, the three companies announced an agreement to co-develop specifications for CellularRAM products, a new multi-generation family of low-power pseudo-static RAM (PSRAM). The devices are designed to meet growing memory and bandwidth demands of future 2.5G and 3G handset designs by offering a lower cost/bit ratio than current solutions. CellularRAM devices incorporate several low-power features and are drop-in compatible, having the same voltage range, package, and ball assignment, with asynchronous low-power SRAMs currently used in cell phone designs. This compatible architecture provides designers a smooth transition from SRAM to CellularRAM products.

The co-development effort between Cypress, Infineon and Micron provides customers with pin- and function-compatible products from multiple sources, based on a jointly developed specification for CellularRAM memory. Each company is manufacturing products using their own design and process technologies and product development timetables. In addition to 32Mb density components, the co-development roadmap includes plans for 16Mb and 64Mb density components. Micron is currently sampling the 32Mb and 64Mb devices, with full production expected in the third quarter of 2003. Infineon is currently sampling the 32Mb and 16Mb with full production expected in the third quarter of 2003. And Cypress plans to have samples available in the first half of 2004.

“ The CellularRAM architecture offers mobile handset designers the ability to add exciting new product features at very low costs by providing a unique combination of high performance and low power consumption in a simple, straightforward design,” said Pashupathy Gopalan, Director of Marketing for Cypress’s Memory Products Division.

" Supported by leading memory manufacturers, the CellularRAM product family is poised to become the preferred solution for emerging high-performance handset applications," said Dr. Ernst Strasser, Director of Marketing for Specialty DRAM at Infineon Technologies. "We also offer CellularRAM products in known-good die (KGD) wafer formats so that memory subsystems can be tuned to specific application requirements, such as integration into multi-chip package solutions."

“The CellularRAM architecture is our answer to handset designers' demands for a faster, more efficient, and simpler design in a high-throughput memory subsystem,” said Mario Fazio, Micron’s Director of Strategic Marketing for Wireless Products. “It is also an ideal volatile memory companion to popular high-speed burst Flash memory. Combining CellularRAM memory with Flash memory in a multi-chip package provides improved system performance while reducing board space for emerging handset designs.”

Based on a DRAM cell, the CellularRAM architecture provides significant advantages over traditional SRAMs and six-transistor (6T) SRAM cells by leveraging the technology and reduced size of a DRAM cell. The 32Mb CellularRAM samples currently available operate at up to 104 MHz clock rates with low initial latency of 70ns and can achieve up to 208 MB/s (1.5 Gb/s) of peak bandwidth. These devices emulate popular standard burst READ and WRITE modes including the Intel® W18 and Micron Flash Burst-compatible protocol with various I/O voltage options.

The 32Mb samples are organized as 2 Meg x 16. The 16Mb and 64Mb density components are organized as 1 Meg x 16 and 4 Meg x 16. To ensure full compatibility for customers seeking multiple sources, the CellularRAM co-development companies are now analyzing and validating each manufacturer’s sample products for final verification.