Microchip Replaces Pricey Parallel SRAM with Serial SRAMs

Microchip Technology announces expansion of its Serial SRAM product line to cater customers’ need for bigger and faster SRAM.

The new Microchip product line includes larger densities of up to 4 Mb and increased Serial Peripheral Interface/Serial Quad I/O™ Interface (SPI/SQI™) speed to 143 MHz.

The Microchip Serial SRAM comes as 2 Mb and 4 Mb devices are designed to provide:

• Lower-cost alternative to traditional parallel SRAM products.
• Includes optional battery backup switchover circuitry in the SRAM memory to retain data on power loss.
• Unlimited endurance and zero write times.
• Excellent options for applications involving continuous data transfer, buffering, data logging, metering and other math- and data-intensive functions.

The new Serial SRAM sports lower-cost, 8-pin package and utilize a high-speed SPI/SQI communication bus that only requires 4?6 MCU I/O pins for easy integration.

Whereas, parallel RAM requires large packages and at least 26–35 microcontroller (MCU) I/Os to interface.

The new devices tout to reduce the need for a more expensive, high-pin-count MCU and can help minimize the overall board footprint.

Microchip has also worked on the most common drawback of serial SRAM which states parallel to be faster than serial memory.

The new Microchip 2 Mb and 4 Mb devices sports increased bus speed capability to 143 MHz with optional quad SPI (4 bits per clock cycle) minimizing the speed gap between solutions.

“Serial SRAM is a popular solution for engineers who need more RAM than what is available on board their MCU but are looking to reduce cost and overall board size,” said Jeff Leasure, director of Microchip’s memory products business unit. “Microchip’s 2 Mb and 4 Mb serial SRAM devices are intended to replace expensive parallel SRAM with an easy and cost-effective alternative.”

These devices are available from 64 Kbit up to 4 Mb in density and support SPI, SDI and SQI bus modes.

To learn about the company’s full portfolio of memory devices: CLICK HERE

Pricing and Availability

The 2 Mb and 4 Mb serial SRAM devices are available starting at $1.60 each in 10,000-unit quantities.

For additional information and to purchase, contact Microchip sales representative, authorized worldwide distributor or visit Microchip’s Purchasing and Client Services website, www.microchipdirect.com.