Microchip announces a family of 8- and 32-kByte stand-alone serial SRAM devices designed to increase a system’s available RAM through adding small, inexpensive external devices.

The new SRAM devices are available at distributor Rutronik now.

The 23A640, 23K640 (23 x 640), 23A256 and 23K256 (23 x 256) devices feature a familiar, industry standard SPI interface, providing increased design
flexibility while reducing design and production costs.

Many embedded applications require volatile RAM for temporary data storage,
or for use as a scratchpad, for bulk processing and for math algorithms. In
many cases, this RAM is embedded within the microcontroller (MCU). In the
past, the most viable way to add more RAM was to buy a larger MCU, which
could add unnecessary feature overhead and increase design costs. The only
alternative was to add large, parallel-access RAM devices that use up large
numbers of I/O pins.

Microchip’s serial SRAM devices provide a simple, inexpensive way for
designers to add more RAM to their application while keeping the same MCU
or, as they require fewer MCU I/O resources, even using a smaller MCU. The
serial RAM devices require just four I/O pins as opposed to 16 or 24 pins
for a parallel RAM. Additionally, the devices feature a bus speed of 20MHz
for fast access, and low operating and standby currents to help extend
battery life.

The 23A640 and 23A256 devices have an operating voltage range of 1.7 –
1.95V. The 23K640 and 23K256 devices have an operating voltage range of
2.7 – 3.6V.

All product information stated in the current press release is based on the
franchise situation in Germany. Country specific variations may therefore
be possible.

www.rutronik.com