Mr. X presents GigaDevice’s latest addition to their Wide Voltage Range series of SPI NOR Flash devices. The GD25WD family features 512 kbit to 4 Mbit options with standard or dual output – an 8 Mbit model is currently in the sampling stage. These devices can be powered by 1.65-3.6 V with zero deep power-down and standby currents of 0.1 µA and a low active read current down to 5 mA at 50 MHz. The 128-bit unique ID functionality for each device also offers enhanced security, and a wide operating temperature range of -40°C to 125°C ensures useability across many environments, with a minimum of 100,000 program/erase cycles and 20-year data retention (typ.).
Due to their extremely low power consumption and high reliability, the GD25WD family of devices are an excellent choice for use in battery-operated consumer end products with a long intended lifetime. Flexible package options from as small as 1.2 x 1.2 mm USON6 allow for space-saving board layouts in the most compact designs, and the additional flexibility granted by the wide operating voltage saves further complications and board space by eliminating the requirement for an additional power rail. The chosen power inevitably influences the device’s maximum clock frequency, but with dual output data transfer up to 80 Mbit/s for 1.65 V power supply, this is surely ample for plenty of applications – it can be doubled using a 3.0-3.6 V supply if required.
Typical of many memory devices, GigaDevice’s GD25WD family does not have an associated evaluation board, but with a multitude of standard packages for each device, GigaDevice should be able to supply a plug-in-and-play solution to test in your existing architecture or new design. There will inevitably be market alternatives to this technology from the other big players, but Mr. ipX has not spotted anything that matches the design flexibility or low power consumption of the GD25WD family.
Keep designing!
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