AMD's low power memory for high performance mobile devices

By Alun Williams

Posted on 7 Aug 2002 at 11:50

AMD unveils a new 64Megabit Flash memory device for smart phones and handhelds. It is designed to support high data throughput on low power consumption.

Figures claimed by AMD for the device - Am29BDS640G - include using up to 95 per cent less power consumption (for example, in standby mode) than competing products.

The new devices are targeted at 'high-end' mobile phones, such as those to meet 2.5G and 3G services ('3G' representing third-generation phone services delivered to always-on multimedia handsets).

'No other product on the market today delivers the low power consumption of this device while simultaneously providing the high throughput needed in advanced 2.5G and 3G phones,' asserts Kevin Plouse, a VP of technical marketing at AMD's Memory Group. 'In addition to delivering the data throughput needed by 54MHz processors, our devices use AMD's advanced and proprietary power management technologies and consume as little as one-twentieth the power of competing devices.'

Operating at 1.8 volts, the new Flash memory device supports 54MHz microprocessors used IN advanced mobile phones. Designed to deliver 1,000,000 program/erase cycles it supports random access times of 70ns (nanoseconds) and synchronous access times of 13.5ns. The Am29BDS640G product is priced at $10.75 in 10,000 piece quantities.

The technology is also available in multi-chip packages (MCP) with either 8 or 16Mb of 1.8 Volt SRAM. These enable manufacturers to create smaller and lighter products by incorporating the Flash and SRAM in one package. The end result can be greater product differentiation.