News & Events
Xicor Announces Industry's First EEPROM Family That Uses Innovative Micro Port Saver (MPS™) Interface
--MPS Replaces Parallel Interfaces and Reduces Power 95% and Board Space 85%~--MPS Interface Replaces SPI and I2C, Saves Ports and Runs at 10Mbps
MILPITAS, Calif., May 12, 1997 - XICOR, Inc. (NASDAQ: XICO) today announced the industry's first EEPROM family that uses the innovative Micro Port Saver (MPS) interface. This new family consists of three nonvolatile devices with densities of 128Kbit (X84129), 64Kbit (X84641) and 16Kbit (X84161). Xicor created the MPS interface to enable these new devices to communicate with microprocessors, microcontrollers and ASICs over a single data line at 10Mbps.
According to Bruce Mattern, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, "MPS is the ultimate interface because of its high speed, efficient use of pins, low power consumption and low cost. Our new MPS family of EEPROMs gives engineers an easy way to connect nonvolatile memory to standard microprocessors and microcontrollers saving precious I/O pins and board space."
In microprocessor applications where MPS devices replace parallel memories (e.g., EEPROMs, EPROMs, Battery Backed RAMs), they provide the benefits of 95 percent less power and 85 percent reduction in board space. The power and board space savings result because there are fewer pins and interconnections, and no glue logic is needed. The speed of the MPS interface gives the new devices "nowait- state" operation with most microprocessors.
In microcontroller applications where MPS devices replace serial memories (e.g., SPI and I2C), they provide the industry's fastest EEPROM connections. The MPS interface transfers data at 10Mbps which is twice the speed of the SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface), and 25 times the speed of I2C (Inter- Integrated Circuit).
The compact size, low power and high-speed of the MPS interface makes these new devices perfect for a wide range of applications including telecommunications (e.g., cellular telephones, modems, pagers), consumer products (e.g., cordless phones, cameras), computer peripherals (e.g., printers, scanners), networking products, automotive, etc.
The new MPS devices offer a standby current of only 1 MicroAmps, and operate over a range of 1.8 to 5.5 Volts which makes them ideal for battery powered applications.
How MPS Works
The MPS interface provides complete random access to data in Xicor's new family of MPS EEPROMs. The interface provides access to information by serially loading a 16-bit address, then clocking out (or in) the 8, 16, 32 or 64 bits of data associated with that address. The data in the next address can be read sequentially by continuing to clock data out (or in). In this mode, the MPS interface provides data within 25ns of a host's read command. This allows "no-wait-state" operation with most hosts.
The MPS devices interface via the three standard control signals on a host bus which are Write Enable, Chip Enable and Output Enable. The serial data line on an MPS device is connected to the least significant data bit (typically D0) on the data bus of the host. Data is read into a host using the standard bus read commands.
Availability and Price
The SOIC versions of the new devices are sampling now with production planned for Q3 1997. The TSSOP versions will be sampling and in production quantities in Q3 1997. The X84161 (16Kbit) device comes in an 8-pin SOIC (Small Outline Integrated Circuit), or 8-pin TSSOP (Thin Small Surface Outline Package). The X84641 (64Kbit) comes in an 8-pin SOIC or 20-pin TSSOP. The X84129 (128Kbit) device comes in a 16-pin SOIC or 28-pin TSSOP.
| Prices in 10,000 piece quantities for the SOIC packages are: | |
| X84161 (16Kbit) .................................................... $2.10 | |
| X84641 (64Kbit)..................................................... $3.45 | |
| X84129 (128Kbit) ................................................... $5.45 |
Reader Contact
Mr. Siamak Sani, Director, Product Marketing, Xicor, Inc., 1511 Buckeye Drive, Milpitas, CA 95025. Telephone: (408) 432-8888, X3212. E-mail: ssani@smtpgate.xicor.com Web site: http://www.xicor.com
Company Background
Xicor develops and manufactures a broad line of in-the-system programmable semiconductor integrated circuits which retain information even when system power is lost or turned off. In-thesystem programmability enables telecommunications, consumer, computer, industrial, automotive and military products to be adapted to changing software and operating environments and to be personalized by the user. Many of Xicor's products consume little power and operate well from a battery powered source, making them ideal for hand-held and portable applications.
Xicor products are used by manufacturers of electronic products worldwide, with approximately half of Xicor's sales coming from exports. Xicor products are supported by regional technical sales offices located in the USA, Europe, Japan and South Korea, and by independent sales representatives and electronic component distributors.
Xicor emphasizes the development of differentiated products incorporating its programmable technology which enables customers to rapidly bring to market products with improved features, efficiency and maintainability. To address the large market for undifferentiated EEPROMs, Xicor is also redesigning certain key popular products for cost reduction through smaller chip sizes. Xicor is a leading supplier of EEPROM and SerialFlash memory products and EEPOT digitally controlled potentiometers.
Xicor's headquarters and principal manufacturing facilities are located in Milpitas, California. Xicor has received the Underwriters Laboratories Certification of Compliance with the ISO 9001 quality standard and the joint automotive QS 9000 quality standard.
Xicor's product, corporate and financial information is readily accessible on the World Wide Web at http://www.xicor.com.
