Atmel Targets Low Power Designs with 1.8V 8-Megabit Serial Flash

Atmel Corporation has announced the production availability of its AT25DF081, the 8-megabit Serial Flash device capable of operating at 1.8-volts. With a low-voltage operating range of 1.65V to 1.95V, the AT25DF081 operates at the same voltage range as many current and upcoming sub-90nm ASICs and processors/controllers which allows system designers to finally create applications that can utilize a single supply voltage for all components in the system while also saving a significant amount of cost. The AT25DF081 was designed to operate at 1.8 volts, enabling the device to retain the same high levels of performance as its 3-volt counterpart. The AT25DF081 addresses the key, main concerns when choosing to use Serial Flash for portable designs. The 66MHz operation of the AT25DF081 addresses this concern and can enable an application to shadow the entire contents of the memory in under a very short 130 milliseconds.



The 1.8-volt capability of the AT25DF081 solves the additional, common issues that plague any portable design. By having a complete system operate at a unified 1.8 volts, system designs can be fully optimized to provide the lowest power consumption and longest battery life possible. Precious board space, weight, and system cost can also be significantly reduced by simplifying the embedded power-supply circuitry and eliminating the need for an additional LDO (low dropout regulator) and associated passive components that would otherwise be necessary for a 3-volt Serial Flash memory. In addition, since the AT25DF081 can operate at the same voltage as the ASIC or processor/controller, there is no need for level shifters on control and data lines, resulting in further savings. The AT25DF081 is available now for both samples and production volumes. The AT25DF081 is offered in three different package options comprising of an 8-lead, 150-mil wide “narrow-body” SOIC, an 8-contact, 5mm x 6mm x 0.6mm Ultra Thin DFN (UDFN), and a small, 0.4mm thin 11-ball dBGA (WLCSP). In 10,000 unit quantities, prices start at US$0.66, US$0.70, and US$0.83 for the three respective package options.