Winbond Electronics Introduces Industry’s Smallest Serial Flash Memories for Space-Critical Applications
Densities from 512Kb to 16Mb; USON, WLBGA Packages Reduce Footprint by 80% or more
SAN JOSE, Calif., USA, and TAICHUNG, Taiwan– November 16, 2011 -- Winbond Electronics Corp., a leading global supplier of specialty memory solutions for computer, consumer and communication applications, today announced a family of new SpiFlash®Serial Flash memories with the industry’s smallest packages per density. The small form factors make them ideal for space-critical designs, such as smart phones, Bluetooth headsets, cameras, digital video, gaming, GPS, wireless modules and other mobile/handheld products. With minimal package dimensions as small as 3.4mm2, these new devices meet the space-saving needs of the rapidly growing mobile-computing market with a range of densities from 512K-bit to 16M-bit. Available in eight-pin ultra-thin small-outline no-lead (USON) and wafer-level-ball-grid-array (WLBGA) forms, the new SpiFlash memories occupy less than 20 percent of the space used by ordinary 30mm2 WSON and SOIC packages.
Broad Range of Densities and Low Power
The new USON 6mm2 (2 x 3 x 0.55mm) SpiFlash memories come in densities of 512Kb, 1Mb, 2Mb, 4Mb and 8Mb in 2.5V or 3V versions; power-saving 1.8V versions are also available for 2Mb and 4Mb densities. The 8Mb USON is the industry’s highest density available in such a package. The WLBGA devices, which use a Wafer-Level-Chip-Scale-Packages (WLCSP) assembly process, are available in 8Mb (3.4mm2) and 16Mb (4.8mm2) densities that operate at 1.8V. The WLBGAs are 0.47mm in height and use 11 percent and 16 percent the space, respectively, of a WSON or SOIC package, making them the smallest and thinnest packages on the market today. The WLBGA packages also provide design security by preventing access to the chips’ signals once mounted to PCBs.
Over a Billion Serial Flash Memories Shipped, Advanced Manufacturing Technology
Winbond, a pioneer and leader in Serial Flash memories, invented and first introduced the popular multi-I/O Serial Flash architecture, now widely used throughout the industry. Since then Winbond’s SpiFlash memory growth has been significant, from 20 million units in 2006 to more than one billion in the first three quarters of 2011 shipped to global customers in virtually all electronic product segments. Winbond’s 90-nanometer Flash technology, manufactured at the company’s 12-inch wafer fabrication facility in Taichung Taiwan, has been key in not only driving Flash memory growth to 40 percent of Winbond’s revenue, but also instrumental in achieving small die sizes for extremely space-efficient packaging. Winbond’s new 58nm technology will continue this trend as it rolls out over the next several quarters.
“Our new USON and WLBGA devices round out Winbond’s broad portfolio of SpiFlash memories in standard packages such as SOIC, WSON and FBGA,” said Robin Jigour, vice president of Flash Memory marketing at Winbond. “Small-form-factors, low-pin-count and low-power, over a broad range of Serial Flash densities, make these new devices well-suited for mobile and handheld applications that are increasingly challenged for available board space.”
“As new mobile and handheld products are designed smaller yet more technologically advanced, they require higher-capacity memories but in reduced sizes,” said Michael Yang, principal analyst for memory and storage at iSuppli. “Serial Flash memory provides a viable solution, as it delivers a variety of capacities with minimal real estate requirement.”
Availability, Pricing
Winbond’s W25X (Single & Dual SPI) and W25Q (Single, Dual and Quad SPI), USON devices are sampling now, with some versions in full production, and priced from $0.32 to $0.57 in 10,000 unit quantities. The W25Q80BWBYIG (8Mb) and W25Q16DWBYIG (16Mb) WLBGA devices are in production now and priced from $0.68 to $0.97 in 10,000 unit quantities. Contact Winbond sales offices for specific pricing and specifications.
About Winbond
Winbond Electronics Corporation is a leading global supplier of semiconductor memory solutions, headquartered in Taichung, Taiwan. Winbond’s major products include specialty DRAM, mobile RAM, NOR Flash and graphics DRAM with revenues in 2010 of approximately one billion US dollars. Winbond has around 1,800 employees worldwide, with offices in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, and the USA. For more information, please visit: www.winbond.com.
SpiFlash is a registered trademark of Winbond Electronics Corporation. All other product names that appear in this material are for identification purposes only and are acknowledged trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
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Corporate spokesperson:
James Wen, chief financial officer
Winbond Electronics Corp. Taiwan
Tel: +886-3-5678168 ext 82507
Corporate news liaison:
Daphne Chang, manager
Winbond Electronics Corp. Taiwan
Tel: +886-3-5678168 ext 81462; yhchang7@winbond.com
Marketing contact for Winbond SpiFlash Memories:
Jooweon (JW) Park, Vice president of Flash memory marketing
Winbond Electronics Corp. America
Tel: 408-544-2698, JWPARK2@winbond.com
Editorial contact for Winbond SpiFlash memories:
Jerry Steach, CommonGround Communications
Tel: 415-222-9996, steachcommonground@pacbell.net