*****For immediate use January 22nd, 2002
NEC Develops World's Fastest 64M-bit Low Power Memory Specified for Mobile Applications
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| "µPD4664312" |
TOKYO January 22nd, 2002 - NEC Corporation (NEC) (NASDAQ: NIPNY) (FTSE: 6701q.l) has developed the world's fastest 64Megabit (Mb) low power consumption random access memory (RAM) device specifically targeting mobile applications, such as cell phones and other portable terminals. The 64Mb (product name: µPD4664312) device has achieved both the world's fastest 65 nanosecond (ns) address access time and 18ns page access time, and its interchangeability with conventional low power static RAM (SRAM) devices mean it can offer the same full array of sophisticated functions and AC timing.
The µPD4664312 is expected to begin sampling from January 2002, shifting to volume production from May 2002 at 500,000 units per month.
The new mobile specified memory utilizes DRAM cells structured to facilitate automatic on-chip refresh, without the need for an off-chip external control device, allowing the new memory device to be interchanged with low power SRAM devices, offering higher-speed performance, high-density and low power consumption. The design innovations, including an optimized memory cell array and power circuitry, have realized a standby dissipation of 60microamps (uA), with a maximum of 100microamps (uA), and by selecting "Power-down" mode, that does not hang on to data in the memory cells, a standby dissipation of 10uA.
Offered in a 4Mb word x 16-bit organization, the mobile specified 64Mb RAM is packaged in a 93-pin fine pitch ball-grid array (FBGA). By using NEC's high-density DRAM process technology and new circuit technology to eliminate dependency on power supply voltage and temperature, the new device is able to offer the world's fastest access speed of 65ns address access and 18ns page access time. The µPD4664312 also offers 8-word page access mode and partial refresh mode, which can reduce the standby current by allowing the user to choose arbitrarily the data hold capacity from either 16Mb/8Mb/4b.
With cellular and personal handy phone systems (PHS) now offering Internet connectivity together with larger color screens, and as music and motion picture functions become a more common part of the mobile phone makeup, a greater array of services to utilize these features are also required. This is creating increased demands for higher density RAM in mobile phones and terminals at lower cost. While synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) offers both the memory density and speed required, the power dissipation of these devices in standby mode is too large for practical application in mobile telephones.
An alternative approach has been to develop higher density and low power SRAM, like that of NEC's 8Mb SRAM device, currently in widespread use in mobile phones. Customers, however, are calling for even greater density devices, that are difficult to achieve with a low power SRAM design because the large six-transistor cell structure of this type of memory creates die sizes that are impractical.
NEC therefore an alternative has been supplying mobile specified RAM devices since 1999 and has now developed the µPD4664312 64Mb mobile specified RAM device announced today, to meet these calls from the market. NEC is also developing stacked multi chip packages (S-MCP) that combine up to 5 levels of different combinations of the new µPD4664312 device, flash memory and low power SRAM chips. And looking to the future, NEC is developing 128Mb and higher density mobile specified RAM to further expand the product line in anticipation of growing customer needs.
About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY) (FTSE: 6701q.l) is a leading provider of Internet solutions, dedicated to meeting the specialized needs of its customers in the key computer, network and electron device fields through its three market-focused in-house companies: NEC Solutions, NEC Networks and NEC Electron Devices. NEC Corporation, with its in-house companies, employs more than 150,000 people worldwide and saw net sales of 5,409 billion Yen (approx. US$43 billion) in fiscal year 2000-2001. For further information, please visit the NEC home page at: http://www.nec.com
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