Hyundai Tackles Low-Voltage Flash

Electronic News, April 17, 2000 by Tom Murphy

Hyundai's Flash Memory Business Unit today is announcing three new single-power supply flash memory device lines targeted at such low-voltage segments as cell phones and personal digital assistants as well as at other consumer and industrial electronics applications such as set-top boxes and networking/telecom equipment.

The introduction of the new line coincides with Hyundai's announcement that it is converting about 5 percent of its DRAM fab capacity to flash production to help supply the tight market.

Each of the new devices has a density of 16Mbit and is organized as either 2Mbit x 8Mbit or 1Mbit x 16Mbit. The devices are fabricated using 0.35-micron CMOS lithography and are the first to employ a Hyundai-developed, triple-well channel erase technology.

The super-low voltage HY29DS162/163 memories are available in 100 nanosecond and 120ns access time versions. These devices read, program, and erase over a range of 1.8 volts to 2.2V and feature a dual-bank, simultaneous read/write architecture.

The HY29DL162/163 devices also are dual-bank, simultaneous read/write flash memories. However, they operate from 2.7V to 3.6V. They are available with access times of 70ns, 90ns and 120ns. The HY29LV160 is a conventional, high-performance, single-bank flash memory that operates from 2.7V to 3.6V and is available in 70ns, 80ns, 90ns, and 120ns access time versions.

"These products represent Hyundai's entry into the low- and super-low voltage flash arena for power-conscious applications such as cellular phones," said Steven Grossman, senior vice president and general manager for Hyundai's Flash Memory Business Unit. "Hyundai is particularly well positioned to support these large users of flash from both product technology and volume manufacturing perspectives," Grossman said.

"Like our 5-volt products, these new devices capitalize on Hyundai's proven DRAM technology and are being fabricated in Hyundai's highly efficient and well-proven DRAM fabrication facilities to assure customers of cost-effective, high-volume product availability."

Grossman said Hyundai has been working on flash memory products for a few years. Hyundai is focusing on code storage flash solutions because that is where it feels most of the market opportunity is. Hyundai believed the bigger flash opportunity was supplying the market for cell phones, set-top boxes and PCs instead of digital still cameras and MP3 audio players.

Sam Young, vice president of flash marketing, said Hyundai makes its flash products compatible with the DRAM process, which gives the company a tremendous amount of a capacity, should it decide to changeover even more production.

"Given that kind of capacity, we've not been forced, like some of our competitors, to make hard decisions about whether to focus on the cell phone market or another niche market. We need a fairly large portfolio of products just because we can build an awful lot of parts. Our strategy is to go after a large segment and we can take advantage of the massive manufacturing strengths of Hyundai."

Steve Cullen, analyst for Cahners In-Stat Group, Scottsdale, Ariz., said this move represents Hyundai's overall goal to become less dependent on DRAM revenue. And the company seems to be going in the right place since flash is the fastest growing market in the memory business by far.

Key features of the HY29DS162/163 and HY29DL162/163 devices include dual-bank, simultaneous read/write operations, a Secured Sector, and accelerated programming. The dual-bank design divides the flash chip into two banks of memory sectors that can perform independent operations. This permits simultaneous read/write operations, which allows the host system to program or erase in one bank, while simultaneously reading from any sector in the other bank with zero latency between read and write operations. By storing operating code in one bank and data in the other, there is no need to interrupt the reading of the operating code to perform data programming or erase operations. This reduces the complexity of the operating code and eliminates an additional memory often required in older designs.

A third feature is accelerated programming, which reduces programming time from 11 microseconds (s) per word to 7s per word, thus paring down the time to program the device by about 40 percent.

The HY29LV160 and HY29DL162/163 are second sources to similar devices currently on the market from manufacturers such as Advanced Micro Devices and Fujitsu. Like the HY29DS162/163, they are fully compliant with JEDEC standards, pin-out and software compatible with the single power supply Flash device requirements, and have inadvertent write protection.

The HY29DS162/163, HY29DL162/163 and HY29LV160 components are all available in 48-pin TSOP and 48-ball FBGA packages. The HY29DS162/163 and HY29LV160 parts will be available in sample and initial production quantities starting in May of this year. Pricing for TSOP packaged versions of these devices in quantities of 10,000 will be $16.95 for the HY29DS162/163 (120ns) and $14.95 for the HY29LV160 (90ns). Sample and initial production quantities of the HY29DL162/163 parts will be available in July. Pricing for the 90ns, TSOP packaged version of this device in quantities of 10,000 will be $16.95. Volume production quantities of all devices are scheduled for the third quarter.