Micron Technology today announced XTRMFlash memory, a faster NOR flash solution designed to change the way the electronics industry develops automotive, industrial and consumer applications. Micron's XTRMFlash memory utilizes low pin count interface that uses as little as 11 active signals. The company claims that the new memory outperforms other industry NOR Flash while also reduces pin counts by as much as 75 percent from those found in Parallel NOR flash available in the market today.

Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) NOR flash is used in a wide array of applications for boot code, program code, and data storage. Micron recognized the need for XTRMFlash memory to maintain backward compatibility to SPI NOR flash. However, with random access times as fast as 83 nanoseconds (ns) and sequential byte reads as fast as 2.5ns, XTRMFlash memory offers better performance compared to traditional SPI and Quad-SPI NOR flash. Sustained read throughputs of 400 megabytes per second (MB/s) enables an entire 1-gigabit (Gb) XTRMFlash device to be read in a mere 0.3 seconds. With XTRMFlash memory's direct execute-in-place (XIP) operation and low pin count interface, board space can be saved and the need for code shadowing can be eliminated.

Micron intends for XTRMFlash memory and the interface to become widely adopted open standards, and flash memory provider Winbond Electronics has signed a license agreement to develop XTRMFlash-compatible solutions.

In order to simplify system design and speed time-to-market, Micron has engaged with controller IP vendors Cadence Design Systems and Synopsis. Both companies have committed to support the high-performance and low pin count XTRMFlash interface as part of their controller IP portfolio. Cadence's Quad SPI IP is available now, while its Octal SPI IP, which supports the XTRMFlash interface, is in early customer engagements. Synopsys' DesignWare Synchronous Serial Interface IP, leveraging multi-lane (dual, quad, and octal) SPI for higher data-rate transfers, is available now.

Micron's XTRMFlash product family offers a number of voltage, package, and density options in both industrial and automotive temperature grades. XTRMFlash memory densities range from 128 megabits (Mb) to 2Gb, and initial samples are available now.