New device first in a family of EPC Gen-2, high-density memory transponder ICs
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – October 6, 2009 – Ramtron International Corporation (Nasdaq: RMTR), the leading developer and supplier of nonvolatile ferroelectric random access memory (F-RAM) and integrated semiconductor products, today announced that it has begun beta sampling its first MaxArias™ wireless memory product to customers across several industries. Ramtron’s MaxArias wireless memory combines the low power, high speed, and high endurance features of Ramtron’s nonvolatile F-RAM memory technology with wireless access to enable innovative data collection capabilities for a broad range of applications.
Ramtron’s first family of wireless memory devices, named the MaxArias WM710xx product line, features F-RAM memory with passive UHF EPCglobal Class-1 Generation-2 wireless access in a transponder IC with 4-, 8-, and 16-Kilobit user memory densities. The WM710xx family is ideal for applications spanning many industries including aircraft/industrial manufacturing, inventory control, maintenance tracking, building security, electronic toll collection, pharmaceutical tracking, and product authentication, among others. Production of WM710xx family is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2010.
“With our MaxArias line, Ramtron is creating a new category of wireless memory products that bring new data collection capabilities to a host of applications,” remarked Dan Secrest, Ramtron’s senior marketing manager. “Our MaxArias products will allow system integrators and users to reliably capture, transmit, and store more information using our RF-enabled devices. By employing the EPCglobal Gen-2 RFID protocol, coupled with our industry standard nonvolatile F-RAM, MaxArias can enhance efficiency in today’s fast-paced, global supply chains.”
“Beta sampling of Ramtron’s MaxArias family of wireless solutions is a critical step toward enlarging Ramtron’s addressable market and strengthening our F-RAM leadership,” said Bill Staunton, Ramtron’s chief executive officer. “Our strategy is to build on our base of F-RAM memory business by leveraging low power F-RAM features to exploit emerging market opportunities and further differentiate F-RAM from other memory solutions, while continuing our aggressive pace of new product development. Initially, we plan to focus on the RFID market, specifically high-value asset tracking and wireless metering, among others.”
About MaxArias Wireless Memory Solutions
Ramtron’s first family of MaxArias wireless memory combines up to 16-Kilobits of high-performance, nonvolatile F-RAM memory with EPCglobal Class-1 Generation-2 UHF Air Interface Protocol Standard, operating at 860MHz – 960MHz. When combined with an optimized antenna design, the MaxArias WM710xx product family powers up with energy harvested directly from the RF field. As specified in the Gen-2 standard, the MaxArias chip receives and processes commands transmitted by the RFID reader.
Product Features and Benefits
The first MaxArias wireless memory devices — WM71004, WM71008, and WM71016 — are organized as 256/512/1024 x 16 bits, respectively. The devices have virtually unlimited read/write endurance of 1E14 (100-trillion) writes and 20-year data retention. MaxArias wireless memory offers fully symmetrical operation for reads and writes in terms of range, sustained memory access bandwidth, and reliability — all at the maximum data rates allowed by the Gen-2 standard.
Ramtron’s MaxArias wireless memory offers unique benefits over traditional EEPROM-based RF-enabled ICs:
Greater RF sensitivity. The WM710xx write operations are zero power, resulting in no power or speed penalty for executing writes.
Improved range. The low power F-RAM-enabled MaxArias wireless memory provides symmetrical wireless reads/writes at 10 meters or more.
Superior write-speed. With speeds up to 6x faster than EEPROM, MaxArias wireless memory enables full memory block-write operations, allowing more data to be stored faster without the required “soak time” of EEPROM-based devices.
Block-write integrity. Data integrity is ensured with Ramtron’s SureWrite™ feature that prevents data corruption during full block-writes.
Magnetic field and gamma radiation tolerant. Due to F-RAM’s invulnerability to magnetic fields and high tolerance to gamma radiation, the MaxArias wireless memory is an ideal choice for applications that are subject to magnetic or irradiating fields.
The WM710xx MaxArias wireless memory operates over the industrial temperature range (-40°C to +85°C). The WM710xx will be offered in several configurations: a standard “green” RoHS-compatible 6-pin UDFN package, bumped wafer, bare dice, or as a fully tested ISO-18000-6C compliant transponder antenna inlay.
For more information about MaxArias wireless memory, a white paper and datasheets are available at www.ramtron.com/go/maxarias. For a 300-dpi product photo, visit www.ramtron.com/press-center/image-bank.aspx (see MaxArias Wireless Memory).
About Ramtron
Ramtron International Corporation, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is a fabless semiconductor company that designs, develops and markets specialized semiconductor memory and integrated semiconductor solutions used in a wide range of product applications and markets worldwide. For more information, visit www.ramtron.com.
About EPCglobal Inc.
EPCglobal Inc is a subsidiary of the global not-for-profit standards organization GS1 and supports the global adoption of the Electronic Product Code™ (EPC) to support the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in today’s fast-moving, information-rich trading networks. For more information about EPCglobal Inc, visit: www.epcglobalinc.org.
