Date: 07/10/2009

New MaxArias RF-enabled wireless memory devices from Ramtron

Ramtron has released a MaxArias WM710xx family of wireless memory devices that 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 is suitable for the applications are aircraft/industrial manufacturing, inventory control, maintenance tracking, building security, electronic toll collection, pharmaceutical tracking, and product authentication.

"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."

The 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 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.

The MaxArias wireless memory features over EEPROM-based RF-enabled ICs are,

High RF sensitivity
Improved range where the F-RAM-enabled MaxArias wireless memory provides symmetrical wireless reads/writes at 10 meters or more.
Speeds up to 6x faster than EEPROM, enables full memory block-write operations, allowing more data to be stored without "soak time" of EEPROM-based devices.
Prevents data corruption during full block-writes.
Magnetic field and gamma radiation tolerant

Operating temperature range: -40°C to +85°C

Package: RoHS-compatible 6-pin UDFN package, bumped wafer, bare dice, or as a fully tested ISO-18000-6C compliant transponder antenna inlay.
Availability: Scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2010

For more details visit www.ramtron.com
Editorial rating of this new product: Significant