NexFlash aims parts at code storage

By David Lammers
EBN

09/15/2003 10:00 AM EST
URL: http://www.eetimessupplynetwork.com/14704704

NexFlash Technologies Inc. today will announce the first in a series of higher-density serial flash, a memory that is gaining acceptance as smart controllers increase their ability to move code at bootup from serial flash to a faster RAM chip.

NexFlash and its competitors are moving from low-end data storage for digital cameras and voice recorders to the use of serial flash for code storage, which requires higher densities and faster performance.

The company's 33MHz devices, called spiFlash, use a Serial Peripheral Interface to upload 1Mbit of code at boot-up in 31ms to a faster SRAM, DRAM, or pseudo-RAM.

NexFlash will use a 0.18-micron technology process at Winbond Electronics Corp., Taipei, Taiwan, to manufacture spiFlash in densities ranging from 1Mbit to 64Mbits. Winbond owns slightly more than half of NexFlash, a 30-person, privately held company based in Santa Clara, Calif.

Serial flash parts are smaller and have many fewer pins than parallel flash; spiFlash parts have eight pins compared with 28 to 44 pins on parallel flash devices, said Robin Jigour, vice president of marketing at NexFlash.

With smaller footprints and less expensive packaging, the serial flash parts are relatively cheap: both the 1- and 2Mbit spiFlash parts will begin shipping soon, priced well under $1. A 4Mbit device is slated to ship at the end of the year, with densities up to 64Mbits planned for 2004.

Analyst Alan Niebel of Web-Feet Research, Monterey, Calif., said the principals at NexFlash have been in the serial flash market longer than anyone, nearly a decade, although they have been hampered by only intermittent access to fabs. First known as NexCom, the company was acquired by ISSI and then spun out as NexFlash. Winbond took a 53% stake two years ago, providing NexFlash with more advanced manufacturing capability.

"Serial flash has been a niche market, but we see it growing over time," Niebel said. "The hard disk drive designers have figured out how to use serial flash to upload protocols, identify bad sectors, and start the bootup sequence over the SPI interface. So it's a natural that serial flash also will be adopted in DVD players and drives."

ADSL and cable modems, graphics cards, audio devices, printers, wireless LANs, and industrial equipment also are starting to use serial flash, he added.

STMicroelectronics N.V. and Atmel Corp. are the two serial flash heavyweights, according to Web-Feet, with Silicon Storage Technology Inc. gaining some share in Asia, including Japan. Two newcomers based in Taiwan, TMC Corp. and YMC Corp., are entering the serial flash market as well.

With its newly designed parts, a stable source of fab capacity, and an engineering staff that has a good understanding of customer needs, NexFlash is poised to move beyond its "minuscule" market share, Niebel said.

NexFlash has worked with Winbond and Sharp Corp. to define more advanced 0.18- and 0.13-micron processes that will come on line next year. The 64- Mbit spiFlash parts will be made initially in 0.18 micron, but when 0.13 micron is ready, NexFlash will use it to move to higher densities, said company president Tom Liao.

NexFlash will need the new process if the company is to keep its higher-density parts in SOIC, MLF, and QFN packages. All of the spiFlash parts use the same packaging and are drop-in replacements for each other.

Niebel said that with the increasing competition, pricing is under pressure, with a 4Mbit serial flash device now selling for 96 cents on average, and $5.15 for a 64Mbit part. But competition is also serving to educate customers about the capabilities of serial flash, and "in that sense, serial flash manufacturers are feeding off of each other," he said.