Microchip Presents World’s Fastest I2C Serial EEPROM
Microchip Technology has launched the first commercially available I2C Serial EEPROM with support for 3.4 Mbit/s data rates, the 24CS512, making it the fastest I2C EEPROM in the world.
Until now, I2C Serial EEPROM bus speeds have been limited to 1 MHz, which is sometimes not fast enough, particularly for larger memory size applications.
“Microchip’s new High-Speed Mode I2C Serial EEPROM expands the available options for meeting complex design criteria.,” says Barry Blixt, Director of Marketing for the memory products business unit at Microchip. “Traditionally the way we look at it, if you need to transfer a large amount of data to a small number of peripherals, then SPI would probably work best. If you need to transfer small amounts of data to many different peripherals, then I2C is likely better. The new 3.4 MHz 24CS512 shifts the trade-off point, enabling more designs to fit in the latter category.”
Microchip’s new 24CS family of Serial EEPROMs are now 3 to 4 times faster than previous I2C EEPROMs, starting with the launch of the 24CS512. The 512 Kbit memory provides a balanced solution for applications that benefit from higher data transfer speeds while retaining the simplicity and cost advantage of I2C.
The 5 Lead SOT-23 is one of the most widely used packages for 1-64 Kbit Serial EEPROMs in the industry due to their small size and price point. Previous process technology limitations have prevented the utilization of this package for higher density EEPROMs. The 24CS512 presents a leap forward in geometry that now enables us for the first time to offer a 512 Kbit Serial EEPROM in this small affordable package.
The 24CS512 makes managing your data easy with its software write protection, lockable ID page, and pre-programmed 128-bit serial number. Traditional I2C EEPROMs utilize hardware-based write protection that only allows locking or unlocking the entire memory array via an external pin, which severely limits the possible ways to protect data. The 24CS512 retains this legacy feature, but also divides the memory array into 8 different zones and provides the ability to individually write protect any combination of zones via software.
