The company’s newest C-RAM™ device is designed for applications requiring large amounts of radiation-hardened, non-volatile memory, making BAE Systems the first company to combine these attributes in a single device. C-RAM technology provides superior radiation-hardness, density, write-cycle endurance, and reliability compared to competing non-volatile technologies. It provides 20 times the tolerance to total-dose radiation over current EEPROM designs and 4 to 16 times the density of competing non-volatile memory technologies. Unlike EEPROM, which requires two power supplies — one to program the part and one to operate it — C-RAM uses a single 3.3-volt power supply for programming and operation.
BAE Systems’ C-RAM offers 70-nanosecond read-cycle times and 500-nanosecond write-cycle times (100 times faster than EEPROM), requires low operating and standby power, and is latchup-immune. C-RAM will be offered in two total-dose immune levels, 500-krad and a 1-Mrad(Si). It has high immunity to single-event effects (1E-11 error/bit-day), an improvement of 1,000 times over EEPPROM. The devices are currently undergoing qualification, with Q-level qualification expected to be complete in October and QML-V qualification in February 2010. The monolithic 2-megabit and 4-megabit devices will be available in 40-pin flat packs. C-RAM product offerings also will include 16-megabit and 20-megabit multi-chip modules. Chalcogenide-based random-access memory combines the phase-change expertise of Ovonyx Inc. with BAE Systems’ radiation-hardened CMOS processing capability. Development of the new C-RAM technology was supported by funding from a number of government agencies, including the Space Vehicles Directorate of Air Force Research Laboratory.