FM25160

The versatility of FRAM technology fits into many diverse applications. Clearly the strength of higher write endurance and faster writes make FRAM superior to EEPROM in all but one-time programmable applications. The advantage is most obvious in data collection environments where writes are frequent and data must be nonvolatile.

The FM25160 is a 16-kilobit nonvolatile memory employing an advanced ferroelectric process. A ferroelectric random access memory or FRAM is nonvolatile but operates in other respects as a RAM.It provides reliable data retention for 10 years while eliminating the complexities, overhead, and system level reliability problems caused by EEPROM and other nonvolatile memories.

Unlike serial EEPROMs, the FM25160 performs write operations at bus speed. No write delays are incurred. Data is written to the memory array mere hundreds of nanoseconds after it has been successfully transferred to the device. The next bus cycle may c7ommence immediately. In addition, the product offers substantial write endurance compared with other nonvolatile memories. The FM25160 is capable of supporting up to 1E10 read/write cycles -- far more than most systems will require from a serial memory.

These capabilities make the FM25160 ideal for nonvolatile memory applications requiring frequent or rapid writes. Examples range from data collection, where the number of write cycles may be critical, to demanding industrial controls where the long write time of EEPROM can cause data loss.

The FM25160 provides substantial benefits to users of serial EEPROM, in a hardware drop-in replacement. The FM25160 uses the high-speed SPI bus, which enhances the high-speed write capability of FRAM technology. It is guaranteed over an industrial temperature range of -40°C to +85°C.