Date: 26/05/2009
New industry consortium to promote serial interfaced DRAMs
South Korean electronics companies Hynix Semiconductor, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics and U.S. based digital consumer semiconductor device vendor Silicon Image have formed a industry consortium to popularize their new technology called Serial Port Memory Technology (SPMT) for serial DRAM interface in the portable electronics systems. This group aims to replace DRAMs with parallel data interface with low pin serial interface chips, especially in cell phones. SPMT said it would initially target the mobile phone market.
SPMT consortium lists in its website the below key advantages of SPMT serial interface over parallel interface in mobile phones and other such portable convergence devices.
1. Increased bandwidth beyond 12 GByte per second.
2. Power consumption of approximately 50% less at any given speed.
3. Pin savings of approximately 60% to 80%, which simplifies design and reduces per-unit cost.
There is also interesting comparison-example which says, "The comparison between parallel and serial interfaces can be thought of as a highway with normal (parallel) and carpool (serial) lanes. The carpool lane has more occupants (data) per car and moves at a greater speed (bandwidth) while the other lanes (parallel) have more lanes but fewer occupants (data) and move much slower (bandwidth), particularly during rush-hour."
To know how a SPMT works download the white paper available at,
http://www.spmt.com/resources/white_paper.aspx
Comments by the executives of promoting companies:
"I am extremely pleased to have such a stellar group of companies come together to form the SPMT Consortium to develop and promote a new memory interface architecture specification for the growing demands of media-rich mobile devices," said Jim Venable, chief technology evangelist of SPMT, LLC. "Serial Port Memory Technology will represent a big step forward by offering mobile handset designers the ability to expand their horizon for a new generation of products."
"Successful solutions for mobile products need to deliver increased functionality and features while still providing extended battery life," said JB Kim, senior vice president of memory products at Hynix Semiconductor. "SPMT is uniquely positioned to deliver on the requirements of leading-edge mobile devices and we are proud to be part of the team that will define the next-generation memory interface for this growing market."
"As mobile handset devices evolve we are going to see a growing demand for media-rich applications supported by highly advanced memory devices," said Myung Ryu of the development procurement team at LG Electronics. "Participating as a promoter in the SPMT Consortium helps us to ensure that the right technology is available to the industry at the right time for future product offerings."
"At Samsung, we are dedicated to developing cutting-edge technologies and advanced processes to create new products that are of slim and simple design," said Seijin Kim, vice president of memory products at Samsung Electronics. "We are pleased to work with the SPMT Consortium."
"We are looking forward to contributing our high-speed serial technology and expertise to the SPMT specification," said Eric Almgren, vice president of business development and intellectual property licensing at Silicon Image, Inc. "As new applications like high-definition 1080p video become a reality in the mobile handset market, advanced memory technology will be required to make such features a reality and SPMT is well positioned to lead that market segment."