From being a niche follower in the memory chip business and nothing much else, Micron Technology Inc, still based in unfashionable Boise, Idaho is a very different company these days – a diversified semiconductor and systems company with major ambitions – and in its core memory chip business, it is right up with the pack. The company is now offering engineering samples of its 64M-bit memory chips in 16M by 4 organisation, fabricated in a four-poly, double-metal CMOS process producing channel lengths of 0.35 microns. The chip runs off a 3.3V supply with 5V-tolerant inputs and outputs so it can be directly interfaced with 5V powered parts; it has Fast Page Mode with Extended Data Out, which the firm says can increase performance by more than 80% over standard Fast Page Mode; 8K-bit and 4K-bit refresh; organisations of by four, eight and 16, and access speeds as fast as 50nS. Samples of the 3.3V 16M by 4 are out now with 60ns access time; the company gave no prices.
