SUNNYVALE, Calif., August 24, 1998 - The Electronic Device Group of Mitsubishi Electronics America Inc. announced a new 256-megabit (Mb) multilevel AND flash memory, the largest capacity flash memory device available in the industry. The multilevel cell technology doubles memory cell capacity, resulting in significantly improved price/performance for large-capacity media storage applications including digital cameras, hard disk drive replacement, and audio storage. The device was jointly developed with Hitachi Ltd.

Replacing large-capacity storage media in information-related products with flash memory cards has become increasingly popular in recent years. With the expansion of the digital camera and handheld personal computer markets, demand has grown for flash devices such as CompactFlash? and PC-ATA*. Flash memory is increasingly replacing hard disk drives in industrial and communications equipment because it simplifies part replacement and closely follows the industry trend toward more miniaturized systems that consume less power.

Mitsubishi's 256-Mb AND flash memory will support higher-resolution recordings and longer recording times for digital audio recorders. For example, two 256-Mb AND flash memory devices, used together, have enough capacity to store one hour of Compact Disc-quality audio data. Mitsubishi's new 256-Mb AND flash memory utilizes multilevel technology, which increases data storage capacity to 2 bits per cell by using four threshold levels (00/01/10/11). Traditional flash technologies use only two threshold levels per cell (0/1), which limits their storage capacity to 1 bit per cell.

"By doubling available capacity in the same cell area, multilevel cell flash technology will significantly improve the price/performance of flash memory," said Narayan Purohit, director of memory products at Mitsubishi Electronics America. "This will result in significant cost reductions for consumer product manufacturers."

Featuring a 32-kiloword by 8-bit organization, Mitsubishi's 256-Mb AND flash memory device will operate with either a 3.3-volt or 5-volt power supply. The program/erase unit is a 2048-byte sector and typical program/erase time is 1-msec per sector. First access time is 50usec and serial access time is 50 nsec. At 3.3 volts, the device will offer typical standby, read, and program/erase currents of 1 uA, 20 mA, and 20 mA, respectively; and at 5 volts: 2 uA, 30 mA, and 30 mA, respectively.

Packaging, availability, and pricing Mitsubishi's 256-Mb AND memory will be available in a 48-pin thin small outline package (TSOP). Scheduled availability for samples is December 1998, with volume production expected in 1999.

* PC-ATA is actually PC Card ATA specifications. The Advanced Technology attachment (ATA) is a set of card specifications established by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA).

About Mitsubishi Electric and Mitsubishi Electronics America Ranked among the world's top 10 semiconductor suppliers, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (www.mitsubishichips.com) is a world-class supplier of flash memories for mobile communications, computing, networking, and large capacity nonvolatile storage applications. Mitsubishi Electric combines its systems-level expertise and high-level silicon process technology to provide chip, chipset and system-on-chip solutions. The company offers an extensive range of semiconductor-based products in markets worldwide, including microcontrollers and microprocessors, ASICs, memory ICs and modules. Mitsubishi markets its flash memory products in North America through the Electronic Device Group of Mitsubishi Electronics America Inc.

Trademark Information CompactFlash is a registered trademark SanDisk Corporation, and is licensed to the CompactFlash Association (CFA).