AMD's Spansion Bets on Serial Flash Memory

AMD-Fujitsu silicon subsidiary Spansion has announced backing of an emerging Flash memory standard with a new family of processors intended for the growing market of devices -- from PC hard drives to onboard navigation systems for cars -- that rely on the embedded Flash memory technology.

Spansion said its new FL Flash chips, which use the serial peripheral interface (SPI), will reduce cost and simplify design of flash-enabled devices such as PC peripherals, DSL and cable modems, DVD and CD players and recorders, LCDs, digital televisions and more.

Industry observers said Spansion was a good candidate to support the emerging SPI serial communication standard, and this week's announcement was viewed as a launching point for the flash technology.

"Spansion's entry into the SPI market provides the critical mass needed to make the interface attractive to system designers who are eager for cost-reduced, low-density, flash-based applications," said a statement from Web-Feet Research CEO Alan Niebel. His firm expects the flash memory market to grow from US$500 million in 2005 to more than $1 billion by 2007

Smaller and Cheaper

Spansion said its FL Flash memory products -- which feature NOR flash processing between 1 and 16 megabits and are based on the company's MirrorBit technology -- will drop costs for developers creating the latest low-cost and ever smaller consumer and automotive electronics. The SPI-based flash will deliver faster boot times and smaller footprints than traditional NOR flash devices, according to Spansion. Spansion also announced a partnership with Israeli company Saifun Semiconductors to develop the flash processors and further establish the MirrorBit technology, a move which was described by some industry insiders as aimed at boosting capacity for the chips.

Not Just a Flash

Spansion said its strategy was to answer the demand for cheaper, smaller embedded flash solutions and expected to gain market traction with the new processor family. The company also indicated that flash technology, particularly in embedded form, is moving beyond just memory.

"The Spansion FL family and SPI interface are proof that future flash memory innovations will require flash vendors to expand their focus beyond the memory itself to the customer's entire system," said Spansion Embedded senior vice president and general manager Sylvia Summers in a statement.

"SPI affects more than just the flash memory. It enables simpler controllers, ASICs and circuit boards, which combined can lower system costs faster than a memory-only solution."

Commodity Conundrum

Meta Group research vice president Steve Kleynhans told TechNewsWorld that although flash is poised to continue growing and reaching a wider range of computer and consumer electronics, the technology is also being commoditized, making margins for vendors difficult.

"A greater number of devices are using greater amounts of flash, but at the same time, flash is becoming a commodity," Kleynhans said.

The analyst said unless companies are able to significantly change and advance flash technology, it remains a challenge to make money with it.

obackup "Vendors are looking for the formula to expand flash into the larger usage models," Kleynhans said. While flash may eventually replace spinning media such as hard drives, such a change would take a long time, he added.