Winbond > Part Catalog/Code Storage Flash Memory > QspiNAND Flash

QspiNAND Flash

Winbond provides a range of QspiNAND flash products that are compatible with the SPI interface, it let users to get various high-capacity memory. In the past, NOR Flash has had a significant cost advantage in low-capacity products, but NAND Flash is a more cost-competitive solution when seeking for high-capacity products.

Serial No.	Memory Type	Density	Voltage	Frequency	Temperature	MP Application
W25N01KV	QspiNAND Flash	1Gb	2.7~3.6V	104MHz	-40°C~85°C, -40°C~105°C	Industrial
W25N02KV	QspiNAND Flash	2Gb	2.7~3.6V	104MHz	-40°C~85°C, -40°C~105°C	Industrial
W25N02KW	QspiNAND Flash	2Gb	1.7~1.95V	104MHz	-40°C~85°C, -40°C~105°C	Industrial
W25N04KV	QspiNAND Flash	4Gb	2.7~3.6V	104MHz	-40°C~85°C, -40°C~105°C	Industrial
W25N512GV	QspiNAND Flash	512Mb	2.7~3.6V	166MHz	-40°C~85°C, -40°C~105°C	Automotive, Industrial
W25N512GW	QspiNAND Flash	512Mb	1.7~1.95V	104MHz	-40°C~85°C, -40°C~105°C	Industrial

What is QspiNAND Flash?

Even though NAND flash, despite being more prone to bit errors, has a relatively low unit cost, making it suitable for applications with high data storage needs. Therefore, if the goal is data storage and requires high capacity, low cost, and can tolerate bit errors, NAND flash is a better choice.

In some cases, NAND flash is also used for code storage, providing similar stability and reliability performance as NOR flash, and at a unit cost that is less than half of NOR flash.

For many embedded applications, using NAND flash with a serial peripheral interface (SPI) instead of NOR flash does not pose many problems. However, this is almost never the case for capacities below 256Mb, because the peripheral circuits take up a larger proportion of the component's area in low-capacity flash, and NAND does not have much cost advantage. However, for capacities of 512Mb and above, the array area occupies the main part of the component, and the cost advantage of NAND is very significant. Especially now that program code requires increasing amounts of storage capacity, using NOR flash for code storage is becoming increasingly expensive. This is leading users to switch to NAND flash as a cost-effective alternative for code storage.

NAND Flash and NOR Flash are two dominant non-volatile memories used in electronic devices. Since the capacity of NAND Flash is larger than that of NOR Flash (512Kb to 2Gb), it could be used for data storage. With sufficient address space and data lines, NOR Flash has faster random read speed and suits to be used for code storage and execution. In addition, generally NOR Flash also has higher reliability than NAND Flash.

What are the benefits of QspiNAND Flash?

Built-in ECC:

Traditional NAND flash memory requires an additional controller to manage, detect, and correct problems that may occur during operation, such as error block management and ECC (Error Correcting Code) correction. However, Winbond's QspiNAND series of products have built-in ECC functionality, and allows users to easily enjoy the convenience and practicality of these features without requiring an additional controller.

Continuous Read function:

In the typical system boot process, code is stored in flash memory and then read out when the system boots up so that the CPU can run it in DRAM at a faster speed. This process is commonly known as Code Shadowing. One of the goals of system designers is to be able to read the code from flash memory into DRAM as quickly as possible. Winbond's unique "Continuous Read" function is one of the features designed specifically to enable faster readout of code from NAND flash memory.

What applications are suitable for QspiNAND Flash?

QspiNAND Flash is widely used in automobiles, smartphones, smart homes, the Internet of Things, and other devices. Due to its high-speed reading, high-capacity storage, low power consumption, excellent durability, and reliability, it can be used in various situations.

For example, the wide range application with QspiNAND flash is ADAS ECU, Digital Cluster, Rear/Front Camera, Infotainment, Navigation, Bluetooth, GPS, Gateway, Data Recorder, DSP and more.

In the smartphone and smart home industries, QspiNAND Flash can be used to store data and application program.

In the IoT, QspiNAND Flash can be used to store less important sensor data, device configurations, and firmware updates. Overall, the widespread use and outstanding performance of QspiNAND Flash make it one of the key technologies in the modern data storage field.

In the automotive and industry application, QspiNAND Flash can be used to store multimedia system data such as entertainment, map and navigation data, and vehicle operation system data.

In recent years, the demand for automotive memory has exploded due to the maturation of ADAS technology, the increasing demand for in-car infotainment systems and automotive panels, and the transition from traditional 4.5-inch instrument clusters to 12.3-inch smart instrument clusters.

These changes in automotive systems will increase the overall data volume of vehicles, necessitating upgrades in memory capacity, data transfer speeds, as well as functionality for reliability and security. This is because the "reliability" of vehicle components is often the first consideration.

For small data applications, NOR Flash is suitable. However, for scenarios where large amounts of data need to be transferred instantly to DRAM (e.g. automotive applications), and where the memory needs to have error-correcting capabilities (ECC), NAND Flash that meets automotive-grade standards is a new trend.

Winbond's NAND Flash complies with the AEC-Q100 automotive standard and operates within a temperature range of -40~105℃. Additionally, its high-performance Serial NAND can provide up to ten years of data retention.

The new high-performance Serial NAND has a data transfer speed four times faster than that of the current market Parallel NAND and Serial NAND. This solution can achieve a performance of up to 80MB/s, allowing the dashboard screen to quickly start up or other system programs to transmit data more quickly.