Winbond Adds Sequential Read Function in QspiNAND Flash

Winbond Electronics Corporation introduced a flexible, high-speed read capability in its latest QspiNAND flash products.

Automotive and IoT device manufacturers are increasingly adopting performance SLC NAND flash as a low-cost alternative at densities of 512Mb and higher to the NOR flash traditionally used for code storage. Previous Winbond innovations in high-performance NAND flash include the Quad SPI-NAND interface, which shares the same 6-pin signals and QSPI command set as Quad SPI-NOR, and the ‘Continuous Read’ function, which achieves up to a 52MB/s continuous data transfer rate at a 104MHz clock frequency.

Now the company has created another innovation in performance NAND flash with the introduction of the sequential read function in its latest performance W25NxxxJW QspiNAND flash devices. In sequential read mode, the QspiNAND flash products achieve the same 52MB/s maximum data rate at 104MHz as in ‘Continuous Read mode’, but with new flexibility to configure the chip’s operation.

The most important options are:

• Freedom to apply the user’s own ECC engine. In Continuous Read mode, a W25N device only supports its own on-chip 1-bit ECC engine. In sequential read mode, users can implement 4-bit, 8-bit or any-bit error correction when enabled by an external ECC engine.

• Access to the entire memory array – both the main area and the spare area – with a single read command. This is for code shadowing applications in which low latency and fast boot time are particularly important.

• Flexibility to configure the data arrangement to suit the user’s application.

“By providing for high-speed operation with its Continuous Read function, Winbond had already made QspiNAND flash a viable option for use in code storage applications, including for code shadowing and execute-in-place operations,” said Syed S. Hussain, director, segment marketing, flash business group. “Now the addition of Sequential Read means that users can benefit from the same high Read speed of up to 52MB/s while implementing their chosen ECC engine and data access arrangements.“

The 1.8V QspiNAND flash products are available in densities of 512Mb, one and 2Gb. The 3.0V versions are available in densities of two and 4Gb. All are manufactured in the company’s 12-inch wafer fabrication facility in Taichung, Taiwan.

The company is expanding capacity to meet new demand expected in both the automotive and IoT market segments. The W25N  flash devices are offered in 8-pin packages – a space-saving format which was not possible for SLC-NAND flash memory products before the firm’s development of an effective QspiNAND flash interface. Clock speeds of 104MHz allow the equivalent of 416MHz (104MHz x 4) speed for Quad I/O performance when using the Fast Read Dual/Quad I/O instructions. To provide better NAND flash memory manageability, the devices perform on-chip bad block management.

Key features of W25N family of NAND flash memory products are:

• Temperature range

  • • -40°C to +85°C operating range in industrial grade

    • -40°C to +105°C operating range in industrial plus and automotive grade

• Memory architecture

  • • Page Read Time with ECC Enabled: 60μs

    • Page Program Time: 250μs (typ.)

    • Block Erase Time: 2ms (typ.)

    • Fast Program/Erase performance

    • Supports OTP Memory Area

• Performance QspiNAND flash

  • • QSPI implementation in 46nm process technology

    • More than 10-years data retention

    • 104MHz clock frequency that can support up to 52MB/s continuous data transfer rate

• Space efficient packaging

  • • WSON8 6x8mm

    • WSON8 5x6mm

    • TFBGA24 6x8mm

    • KGD (Known Good Die)

Read also :
FMS: Winbond SpiStack Dual-Die NOR+NAND Code Storage Product Included on NXP FRWY-LS1012A Board
And demonstration of W25N01JW serial NAND product with data transfer rate of 83MB/s via Quad Serial Peripheral Interface August 11,2019 | Press Release