New-Tech Magazine Europe | Dec 2015 Digital edition

Fig 2: USON and WLCSP packages for the Macronix Serial NOR Flash MC25R Series

Specific NOR Flash Configurations for Wearables

Macronix’s new Serial NOR flash MX25R Series was specifically designed and laid out for the relevant performance requirements of wearable devices – that is, eliminating all non-essential structures and features. Among other measures, the internal buffers were tailored to the envisioned applications, whereas a typical high-performance memory cell would comprise large internal RAMs. In wearable applications, when focusing on frequencies of just a few Megahertz, there are further routes for optimization to reduce die size and power consumption, while maintaining all options for system designers to still utilize special ‘performance modes’ – at the cost of higher power consumption. In its deep-power-down (current- saving) mode the MX25R devices offer a very favorable power budget, with savings of more than 90 percent compared to traditional solutions. In regard to connecting the memory device with the system environment, the MX25R is compatible with the well- known and widely-used standard Serial NOR Flash Interface. This eliminates additional development efforts on the user’s side and it accelerates time to market. With regard to active current, the Macronix MX25R device - drawing 4 mA (8 mA peak) - is situated at the lower end of the range available in the market. As a first estimation the active current of the MX25R device is

Fig 1: Available package formats for MX25R serial NOR flash devices.

MTK, Intel, Infineon and others. Of course, ARM as a licensor is heavily engaged in this realm as well. Another market segment offering good prospects for high sales volumes, which could gain in importance in the mid-term, is smart lighting and smart metering, plus home security and home control systems equipped with thermostats and related equipment. However, this segment may attract a smaller number of device vendors since it involves different, somewhat higher demands on product quality. Macronix is set to contribute to these emerging markets through specific incremental improvements of non-volatile memory devices, especially in regard to ultra-low power and standby modes. In stark contrast to the more broadly defined Internet of Things, with its complex infrastructure and fast transfer of large amounts of data, the wearable devices segment calls for a pragmatic system partitioning. Wearables, per definition, are the smallest possible data systems to be worn close to the human body. If they were larger they wouldn’t be wearables anymore. Wearables, in contrast to smart phones and multimedia systems, don’t require high memory densities and large memory spaces since they connect wirelessly with their dedicated base stations.

driver to build a consensus for a comprehensive data network and its step-by-step implementation. The need for consensus-building results from the multitude of competing processor platforms and operating systems, in addition to the various protocols for radio interfaces and data security measures. This pertains to the consumer realm as well as to its industrial-use counterpart in the guise of ‘Industry 4.0’. All these developments involve an extraordinary systems complexity. Accordingly, Macronix sees several large, distinctive market segments for IoT devices and systems: cloud services and data centers, gateways for mobile telephony, automotive connectivity, home media, and a myriad of consumer- oriented IoT nodes for consumers in the form of ultra-compact, sensor- enabled terminal devices for data acquisition and wireless transmission over short distances to their personal base stations, such as smart phones and tablets. Most attractive from a current market perspective are the wearables, since they will establish large consumer markets. This is clearly indicated by the number of the semiconductor vendors focusing on wearables and smart home systems and the prioritization they are giving this segment. Among them are NXP, Freescale, Qualcomm, TI, Sony,

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