Winbond’s New Low-Voltage NOR Flash Memories Designed Around ESP32

Winbond’s two new lines of ultra-low-voltage SPI Flash memories, at 1.2V and 1.5V, provide low standby and power-down currents, along with the lowest read-current at a high clock-frequency. Their low-power capability enables designs with a battery life that is longer than ever before. More specifically, the extended 1.5V memory ensures that the device remains fully operational from the time the battery is fresh to when it reaches its end-point at the lowest operating voltage of 1.14V. Moreover, ESP32’s low-power technology helps to reduce power consumption even further. 

ESP32 is a single 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi & Bluetooth combo chip designed with TSMC’s ultra-low-power 40 nm technology. It can easily interface with other systems, thus providing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality through SPI / SDIO or I2C / UART interfaces. The high level of integration that ESP32 offers enhances the versatility of any IoT project it brings to life. It also requires minimal PCB area and achieves ultra-low power consumption, with a combination of several types of proprietary software. As such, ESP32 is suitable for mobile devices, wearable electronics and IoT applications, featuring such state-of-the-art characteristics as fine-grained clock gating and dynamic power scaling. The output of EPS32’s power amplifier is also adjustable, which results in an optimal trade-off between communication range, data-transfer rate and power consumption.

Regarding the collaboration between Espressif Systems and Winbond, Teo Swee Ann, Espressif Systems’ CEO, has made the following comment: “Winbond’s low-power serial flash products have been ideally positioned for IoT applications and smart, connected devices. The Winbond 1.2V serial flash device pushes the envelope further and, with our ultra-low-power ESP32 WiFi-Bluetooth combo chip, it has demonstrated its capability to help us further reduce power consumption. It has been tested successfully on our systems and we hope to bring this to the market in the form of a module as soon as possible.”

Windbond’s first model of the ultra-low-voltage SPI Flash series, that is, W25Q80NE with a density of 8Mb and a supply voltage of 1.2V, is already available in the form of introductory samples. Other models with a density of 1Mb to 128Mb, as well as chips designed for a supply voltage of 1.5V will appear later, possibly in early 2018.

Sources: http://www.winbond.com/ and www.espressif.com