Sep 8 2006
Spansion Inc., the world's largest pure-play provider of Flash memory solutions and Saifun Semiconductors Ltd., a leading provider of Flash memory intellectual property and technology, today announced that the companies have extended their licensing and product design agreement. As part of the agreement, Saifun will provide engineering and design support for the development of 90nm and 65nm MirrorBit® Quad products based on Spansion’s proprietary, patented MirrorBit technology that incorporates Saifun’s proprietary, patented NROM IP.
"By combining Saifun's world-class IP and engineering support with Spansion's innovative, disruptive MirrorBit technology, we plan to deliver new Flash memory solutions that will create new markets and business opportunities for customers," said Bertrand Cambou, president and CEO of Spansion. "Spansion® MirrorBit Quad technology has the potential to dramatically lower the cost, reduce the size and increase the storage capacity of new Flash memory solutions."
A single Spansion MirrorBit Quad memory cell stores double the amount of information compared to a current floating-gate Flash memory cell in production with Multi-Level-Cell (MLC) architecture. Current MirrorBit technology uses a non-conducting nitride storage medium to deliver fundamental cost and manufacturing advantages over floating-gate technology and incorporates Saifun NROM IP. Spansion holds over two thousand patents and patent applications in Flash memory, including patents on MirrorBit technology in the areas of devices, circuitry, processes and composition, which have enabled Spansion to successfully ramp production of MirrorBit products to high volume. Saifun holds over 150 patents based on its NROM IP, which is helping enable the four-bits-per-cell storage capability of MirrorBit Quad products.
“We are extremely proud of our growing partnership with Spansion as it expands its MirrorBit product line to bring added-value Flash memory solutions to the market,” added Dr. Boaz Eitan, chairman and chief executive officer of Saifun. “Building upon our unique NROM IP and commitment to innovation that has brought Spansion success with its two-bit-per-cell MirrorBit technology, we are confident that new MirrorBit Quad solutions will be the basis for fundamentally new Flash memory solutions never before thought possible.”