Macronix Introduces World's First 256Mbit Serial Flash

Breakthrough in high density Serial Flash Memory

HSINCHU, Taiwan, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Macronix International Co.,
Ltd. (TSE: 2337), the number one Serial Flash supplier, today continues it's
leadership and innovation in the Serial Flash market by announcing the world's
first 256-megabit(Mbit) Serial Flash product. This new 256Mbit product,
MX25L25635E, will allow system designers and manufacturers to offer greater
functionality and performance in their products. Based on an innovative
32-bit addressing scheme, Macronix has created a simple way to extend the
Serial Flash density beyond 128Mbit while supporting the existing 24-bit
addressing for backward compatibility. The new 256Mbit Serial Flash provides a
small form factor, low pin count, and reduces the overall system cost in many
of today's applications, like networking, set-top box, and servers.
(Photo: http://www.prnasia.com/sa/2009/10/28/20091028216197.html )
"Macronix has enhanced its leadership position in Serial Flash by being
the first company to offer the highest density 256Mbit product in the market,"
said Alan Niebel, CEO and founder of Web-Feet Research. "The Serial Flash
market is the fastest growing NOR Flash segment increasing from $645M in 2009
and with the addition of the 256Mbit Serial part it should reach $2,036M by
2014."
Serial Flash products are currently based on a 24-bit addressing protocol
which caps the maximum density at 128Mbit. However, as manufacturers
introduce complex and feature rich products, their memory requirements are
changing and system designers are looking for densities greater than 128Mbit
to store their code and/or applications. With the current architecture there
is no viable solution to this issue.
Macronix is the first Serial Flash company to break through the 128Mbit
density barrier. The 256Mbit Serial Flash uses a combination of 24-bit and
32-bit addressing to maintain backward compatibility. The new 256Mbit part
powers up like a 128Mbit device in 24-bit mode and a user can switch to 32-bit
addressing as needed. Using this method, a system designer will not have to
completely rewrite the software.
"Many of the newer markets including VoIP network processors require high
density Flash memory" said Shahin Rohani, Director of Applications & Customer
Solutions at TranSwitch Corporation. "Recognizing Macronix as a leader in
Serial Flash and the first company to introduce the highest density 256Mbit
Serial Flash, we are looking forward to using these devices in our upcoming
designs."
The Macronix 256Mbit Serial Flash product is targeted for feature rich
applications that require higher storage space and performance, while
maintaining the low pin count and overall system cost. Some of these
applications are networking systems, WiMax, set-top box, servers, high-end
projectors, Digital TVs and similar products. Another key market is FPGAs,
where a large amount of code needs to be downloaded from Flash.
The new 256Mbit Serial Flash not only enhances the density, but also
offers high performance through Macronix Serial Multi-I/O (MXSMIO(TM)). The
MX25L25635E supports single, dual, and quad I/O capability for higher
throughput while maintaining the same package and pin numbers of traditional
Serial Flash. This fast performance makes the 256Mbit device ideal for code
and user data storage, and is capable of code XIP (execute-in-place) directly
from Flash.
The MX25L25635E, 256Mbit Multi I/O Serial Flash is sampling in October and
mass production is scheduled for December 2009. The advanced datasheet is
available online at www.macronix.com .
Some of the MX25L25635E features are high-lighted below:

Features
-- 256Mbit with Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) compliance
-- 24-bit mode and 32-bit mode addressing
-- 4 KB sectors, and 32 KB / 64 KB block for flexible software
architecture
-- 256-bytes per page programming, with single-byte programming
capability
-- 2.7 - 3.6 volt operating voltage range
-- Secured 4 Kbit OTP
-- Support common serial flash interface - DMC(Discoverable Memory
Capabilities)
-- Industrial temperature grade

Performance

Single I/O Dual I/O Quad I/O
80 Mbps 140 Mbps 280 Mbps

-- Programming time: 1.4mS (typical) for a 256-byte page
-- Erase time:
- 60mS (typical) for 4K-byte sector
- 0.5S (typical) for 32K-byte sector
- 0.7S (typical) for 64K-byte block.

Packages
-- Industry standard 16-pin SOIC package
-- RoHS (lead-free) compliant

About Macronix International Co., Ltd.
Founded in 1989, Macronix International Co., Ltd. (TSE: 2337.TT) is a
leading provider of innovative Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) solutions. Macronix
is the largest worldwide manufacturer of ROM products, and also provides a
wide range of Parallel and Serial NOR Flash products across various densities.
These products are used in vast range of consumer, computing, communications &
networking, and industrial applications.
For more information, please visit the Company web site at
www.macronix.com .

Media Contacts:

Headquarters(Taiwan)
Michelle Chang
Department Manager
Corporate Communication Office
Macronix International Co., LTD.
TEL: +886-3-578-6688 ext. 71233
FAX: +886-3-666-3169
Email: michellechang@mxic.com.tw

Americas
Salman Rashid
Senior Marketing Director
Macronix America, Inc.
TEL: +1-408-941-6264
FAX: +1-408-893-1777
Email: salmanrashid@macronix.com

Japan
Nobufumi Fujii
Marketing Senior Manager
Japan Branch
Macronix Asia Limited
TEL: +81-44-246-9100
FAX: +81-44-246-9105
Email: fujii@mxic.co.jp

Europe
Jeff Doong
Product Marketing Manager
Macronix Europe, N.V.
TEL: +32-2-456-80-20 ext. 23
FAX: +32-2-456-80-21
Email: jeffdoong@mxic.com.tw

SOURCE Macronix International Co., Ltd.

Taiwan: Michelle Chang, Department Manager, Corporate Communication Office of
Macronix International Co., LTD., +886-3-578-6688 ext. 71233, fax,
+886-3-666-3169, or michellechang@mxic.com.tw; Americas: Salman Rashid, Senior
Marketing Director of Macronix America, Inc., +1-408-941-6264, fax,
+1-408-893-1777, salmanrashid@macronix.com; Japan: Nobufumi Fujii, Marketing
Senior Manager, Japan Branch of Macronix Asia Limited, +81-44-246-9100, fax,
+81-44-246-9105, fujii@mxic.co.jp; Europe, Jeff Doong, Product Marketing
Manager of Macronix Europe, N.V., +32-2-456-80-20 ext. 23, fax,
+32-2-456-80-21, jeffdoong@mxic.com.tw