Micron unveils burst EDO DRAMs

Electronic News, June 26, 1995

BOISE, IDAHO -- To rival other memory vendors pushing synchronous DRAMs, Micron Technology fired its first salvo of burst EDO DRAMs into the market with hopes that the 16-Mbit device will lure OEMs away from SDRAMs as the industry begins converting to 16-Mbit devices by year-end.

Micron claims the 16-Mbit burst EDO DRAMs, which target main memory for $2,000 PCs, offer similar performance advantages to synchronous designs for a lower cost and without having to modify existing standards. The 50-nanosecond burst EDO part provides zero-wait-state burst operation at a 66MHz bus frequency, which matches the specifications for Pentium processors running at up to 120MHz, said Gene Cloud, Micron's VP of marketing. "There's a real battle shaping up between burst EDO and synchronous. Our customers are telling us they want a part that can go cheap and fast."

Micron, which has no plans to make a 16-Mbit SDRAM, is now jousting with SDRAM proponents--which include the likes of NEC, Fujitsu and Hitachi--by trying to hustle support from chipset vendors. With a minor BIOS change, burst EDO can plug in any module, said Mr. Cloud, adding that about 14 chipset vendors are working on burst EDO-friendly products.

Unlike synchronous DRAMs, burst EDO parts are offered as a wire-bond option and do not require different packaging or pinout than existing EDO parts. "We really only have to make one style of wafer, which means we can drive down cost," he said.

Micron, which is drumming up support for burst EDO by sharing the specifications with other memory vendors, is guaranteeing at least 50 percent product yields for the parts. DRAM companies that have pledged to support 16-Mbit burst EDO include Samsung Semiconductor, Oki Electric, Hyundai Electronics, Mitsubishi Electric and Siemens AG.

Gateway 2000, Matsushita Electric, Micronics Computers and Micron Electronics (a Micron Technology subsidiary) have all announced plans to offer PCs and motherboards with burst EDO serving as their main memory.

In addition to claiming an edge in price over SDRAMs, Micron boasts that 50ns burst EDO DRAMs offer an initial access latency of two clock cycles while 100MHz SDRAMs require three clocks. "Burst EDO is actually a faster part at the real world level," Mr. Cloud said.

Micron's 16-Mbit burst EDO parts, which are available now in sample quantities and slated for volume production in 4Q95, are organized 4Mx4, 2Mx8 and 1Mx16 configurations. Engineering samples will be manufactured using a 0.45-micron process, later moving to 0.35-micron linewidths. Micron would not reveal pricing for the burst EDO DRAMs, saying only that they would be priced 2 to 5 percent above its fast page mode parts.