AMD Offers New High Density Flash Memory Solution for Portable Applications

Device extends Simultaneous Read/Write technology to 1.8V

SUNNYVALE, CA -- 8/30/2000 -- AMD today introduced the Am29DS323, a 32-megabit device that combines two key features: Simultaneous Read/Write architecture and Super Low Voltage technology. The 1.8-volt device is capable of read access times as fast as 110 nanoseconds and can reduce flash memory power consumption by up to 60 percent as compared to standard 3-volt flash memory devices. This new product is ideal for portable systems and cellular phones that are adding functionality like global positioning and electronic organizers to create highly versatile companions.

"Our customers require high density flash memory with increased functionality and very low power consumption," said Walid Maghribi, group vice president of AMD's Memory Group. "The Am29DS323 makes it simple for our broad range of customers who develop portable systems to benefit from AMD's advanced Simultaneous Read/Write architecture while accommodating their stringent power requirements."

The Am29DS323 offers a natural low power extension to the popular Am29DL family which offers 4Mb, 8Mb, 16Mb, and 32Mb densities with identical pinouts and command sets that enable seamless migration between densities. Customers can easily migrate their designs to 1.8 volts.

Through Simultaneous Read/Write technology, the memory array of the Am29DS323 is divided into two independent memory banks of 8Mb and 24Mb. This feature allows the system processor to read data from one bank and program the other bank with zero latency thereby reducing the need for other memory devices, effectively lowering component costs and increasing system reliability.

Additionally, when the Am29DS323 is inactive it automatically puts itself into "sleep" mode through its Zero Power Operation feature and consumes only 0.2uA of current. The device is available in FBGA (Fine Pitch Ball Grid Array) packaging, which provides the most reliable, least expensive chip-scale package solution for flash memory, and also includes the SecSi™ (secured silicon) Sector, which helps protect against unauthorized system cloning.

AMD's flash memory division has won Supplier of the Year Awards from Nortel Networks and Cisco Systems and the Leading Edge Supplier Award from Volkswagen.

Price, Package and Availability
The Am29DS323 is available now and is priced at $22.40 in 10,000 piece quantities.

About AMD Flash Memory Devices
AMD technology is employed by the world's largest producer of flash memory devices, Fujitsu AMD Semiconductor Ltd. (FASL). AMD flash memory products encompass a broad spectrum of densities and features to support a wide range of markets. AMD offers many flash memory products, such as the award-winning Simultaneous Read-Write (SRW) product family; Super Low Voltage 1.8V flash memory devices; and Burst- and Page-Mode devices. AMD developed the robust Known Good Die (KGD) program and the patented negative gate erase technology, and refined the industry-standard Fine-pitch Ball Grid Array (FBGA).

All AMD flash memory devices are guaranteed for a minimum of one million write cycles per sector and 20 years' data retention, making them the most reliable non-volatile memory devices in the industry.