AMD today announced that it has commenced sampling the industry’s highest density NOR Flash memory device. Based on AMD MirrorBit technology, the new 256Mb AMD Flash memory device is designed to enable advanced features and functionality in a variety of products such as cellular phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs). This device is part of a broad portfolio of AMD MirrorBit Flash memory products introduced today for sampling, with densities of 16, 32, 128 and 256Mb. The 64Mb device is currently in production.

AMD’s new family of MirrorBit Flash memory devices delivers highly reliable, cost effective solutions for code and data storage that the market demands. For consumers, high density Flash memory allows color screens, multiple languages, short messaging, pictures, internet access, and other advanced features, on cellular phones, PDAs and auto entertainment or navigation systems. For industrial users it allows the design of smarter routers and more efficient switches in networking applications.

The AMD Flash memory products introduced today offer a wide range of choices for performance, packaging, densities, data-bus width, and sector architecture. The planned extensive combination of nearly 500 distinct ordering part numbers will allow customers to select a Flash memory device tailored for their specific design needs. The most important specs look as follows:

• Single 3.0 Volt power supply;
• Asynchronous access times as fast as 70 nanoseconds for the 16Mb and 90ns for the other densities;
• Page mode access times as fast as 25 nanoseconds;
• 16 word performance-enhancing write buffer;
• Small 64kB sectors with erase times as fast as 400 microseconds;
• Minimum of 20 years’ data retention at 125 degrees Celsius or minimum of 100 000 write/erase cycles per sector;
• Available in:
  • 64-Ball Fortified Ball Grid Array Package;
  • 63-Ball Fine-Pitch Ball Grid Array Package;
  • 48-Pin Thin Small Outline Package;
  • 56-Pin Thin Small Outline Package;

Flash memory devices based on AMD MirrorBit technology maintain complete pin-compatibility with existing AMD Flash families. As a result, customers can easily adopt AMD MirrorBit technology and migrate to higher densities.

The 64Mb device is currently in production and samples of the 256Mb, 128Mb, 32Mb, and 16Mb devices are available now, with volume production scheduled for the first quarter of 2003. Flash memory products based on AMD MirrorBit technology are priced as follows:

- $25.75 / 256Mb device;
- $13.50 / 128Mb device;
- $7.35 / 64Mb device;
- $3.95 / 32Mb device;
- $2.35 / 16Mb device;

All prices are for 10 000 piece quantities.