Dialog claims lowest power SPI NOR flash for IoT devices

Dialog Semiconductor plc has launched the ultra-low-energy AT25EU family of SPI NOR flash devices to support the development of power- and size-constrained connected IoT devices. The key differentiator between the AT25EU devices and existing SPI NOR flash components is its lower total energy consumption, said the company.

Dialog claims the AT25EU uses up to 70 percent less energy for read and up to 99 percent less energy for erase. In addition to the low-power, high-speed read operation, the new SPI NOR flash products offer significantly faster erase times. An example cited is the 2-Mbit AT25EU0021A that can perform a full-chip erase in under 10 ms while consuming less than 1 percent of the energy required by competing devices, which can take a full second, or longer, to perform the same operation.

“The ability to achieve faster, lower energy erase operations improves the efficiency of functions such as over-the-air updates (OTA), event tracking, and data logging activities,” said Dialog.

The company also noted the erase time, together with the low power and high-speed operation, make the memory devices suited to extending the operational time of small battery-powered IoT devices. The AT25EU is verified with Dialog’s low-power Bluetooth Low Energy modules, SmartBond DA14530 and DA14531.

The SPI NOR flash memory family also offers power-saving features including wide Vcc (1.65 V to 3.6 V) operation to extend the battery life as well as the 100 to 300 nA deep power-down mode to conserve energy when the product is not in use. Thanks to the wide Vcc, the memory devices are compatible with 1.8-V and 3-V microcontrollers and system-in-chip (SoC) devices. They also support different battery chemistries and configurations.

The first AT25EU devices will be offered in 1-Mbit and 2-Mbit configurations. Sampling starts in the second quarter of 2021. Additional devices are planned for up to 16-Mbits density.