Spansion unveils 65nm MirrorBit ORNAND Flash for handsets

By Ann Steffora Mutschler -- Electronic News, 1/18/2007

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based pure-play Flash memory provider Spansion Inc. said today it is now sampling 65nm MirrorBit ORNAND devices aimed at data storage in high-end, multimedia wireless handsets.

The chips are being manufactured at Spansion’s Fab 25 in Austin, Texas and will be in production in early Q3.

Spansion says its 65nm MirrorBit ORNAND family is available in densities of 512Mb, 1Gb and 2Gb, to allow wireless OEMs to create rich multi-media capabilities in next-generation handsets, including digital television streaming, multi-shot photography with up to 5megapixel pictures and CD-quality audio.

Also, Spansion’s multi-chip packages combine MirrorBit NOR and MirrorBit ORNAND and are meant to allow faster boot time, with improved power savings when in standby mode compared to pure code shadowing solutions.

Spansion says it also expects to leverage 65nm MirrorBit technology for MirrorBit NOR and MirrorBit Quad devices in a variety of densities to meet the code and data storage requirements for consumer, industrial and digital-rich content applications.

And, as part of its strategy to accelerate technology transitions, Spansion says it has already started 45nm MirrorBit development at 300mm in its Submicron Development Center located in Sunnyvale, with first wafers expected in Q1.

Spansion is planning 45nm MirrorBit production on 300mm wafers at its new SP1 facility in mid 2008 and intends to manufacture 65nm at Fab 25 and SP1 as early as possible.