Cypress and Ramtron Push Dense SRAM

Stuffing more RAM into a device without taking up more space is a trick unto itself without the added benefit of sucking up less power. Apparently, it's possible, as evidenced by Cypress and Ramtron who just told us about their new 72 Mb NoBL (No Bus Latency) burst SRAM family for the networking communications market. The companies think the components will be particularly useful in switches and routers working at OC-48 (2.5 Mb/sec) and above. The new devices use the Enhanced Memory Systems patented one-transistor Enhanced SRAM (ESRAM) technology to achieve the same speed, four times higher density, and four times lower power than a traditional six-transistor SRAM. The 72 Mb NoBL burst SRAM products are organized 2 Mb x 36, operate at up to166 MHz clock speed, and deliver 100 percent bus bandwidth during four-word read/write/read transactions. The products are available with 2.5V or 3.3V power supply options and 100-pin TQFP and 119-pin PBGA packaging options. Power consumption is the same as leading 18 Mb SRAMs, resulting in one quarter the power requirement of a comparable 6T configuration. The products are pin, function, and timing compatible with the Cypress family of NoBL SRAMs and are scheduled to be available in January 2002 from both Cypress Semiconductor and Enhanced Memory Systems with production volumes anticipated in 2Q02.