Cypress, Infineon and Micron Announce First CellularRAM Samples; Multi-Generation Family of Low-Power PSRAMs Designed for 2.5G and 3G Wireless Handsets
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 5, 2003--The
CellularRAM(TM) co-development team of Cypress Semiconductor
Corporation (NYSE:CY), Infineon Technologies AG (FSE, NYSE:IFX) and
Micron Technology, Inc. (NYSE:MU), today 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 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(R) 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.
CellularRAM co-development members are jointly working on the
definition of the next generation of the CellularRAM product family, a
128Mb device, targeted for sampling in second half of 2004. For more
information, visit www.cellularram.com.
About Cypress
Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE:CY) is Connecting from
Last Mile to First Mile(TM) with high-performance solutions for
personal, network access, enterprise, metro switch, and core
communications-system applications. Cypress Connects(TM) using
wireless, wireline, digital, and optical transmission standards,
including USB, Fibre Channel, SONET/SDH, Gigabit Ethernet, and DWDM.
Leveraging its process and system-level expertise, Cypress makes
industry-leading physical layer devices, framers, and network search
engines, along with a broad portfolio of high-bandwidth memories,
timing technology solutions, and programmable microcontrollers. More
information about Cypress is accessible online at www.cypress.com.
About Infineon
Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor
and system solutions for the automotive and industrial sectors, for
applications in the wired communications markets, secure mobile
solutions as well as memory products. With a global presence, Infineon
operates in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from
Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. In fiscal year 2002 (ending
September), the company achieved sales of Euro 5.21 billion with about
30,400 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the DAX index of the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker
symbol:IFX). Further information is available at
http://www.infineon.com.
About Micron
Micron Technology, Inc., is one of the world's leading providers
of advanced semiconductor solutions. Through its worldwide operations,
Micron manufactures and markets DRAMs, Flash memory, CMOS image
sensors, other semiconductor components and memory modules for use in
leading-edge computing, consumer, networking, and mobile products.
Micron's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
under the MU symbol. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc.,
visit its web site at www.micron.com.
CellularRAM is a trademark of Micron Technology, Inc. in the U.S.
and is a trademark of Infineon Technologies outside the U.S. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
CONTACT: Micron Technology, Inc.
Echo Chadwick, 208/368-4400
echadwick@micron.com
or
Cypress Semiconductor Corporation
Ed Rebello, 408/545-7665
ewr@cypress.com
or
Infineon Technologies
Matthew Schmidt, 650/691-1488
matt@fscomm.com