IBM Corp has a new family of 1M-bit static RAMs that it claims are among the fastest in the industry. In second-level cache applications supporting high-performance microprocessors, operating frequencies up to 167MHz are achievable with a pipeline access time of 4nS, flow through access time of 8nS. To optimise performance with the PowerPC and Pentium, IBM is offering burst mode versions that enable the static to support functions specific to these CPUs. They come in 8nS, 9nS, 10nS and 12nS versions, and are organised as 64K-words by 18 bits and 32K-words by 36 bits. They feature single clock read or write operation, self-timed write operation and compatibility with low voltage, transistor-to-transistor logic input-output interfaces – they run off a 3.3V supply. Fabricated in 0.5 micron CMOS, they sample next quarter with volume in the fourth, at $58 for 1,000-up.
