Developed by the SPMT Consortium, Serial Switch technology ensures to deliver four times the bandwidth pin-for-pin at half the power of existing memory solutions, and offers smooth, low-cost migration from parallel to serial memories .SPMT-enabled memory with Serial Switch technology claims to offer low power during power down and low bandwidth operations, but can switch to high-performance SPMT serial mode, boosting performance from 1.6 GB/s in parallel mode to 6.4 GB/s in serial mode. The technology is optimized for mobile and consumer electronics applications with high-bandwidth requirements like HD video, 3D action gaming, mobile projection, and more.

“Serial Port Memory Technology with Serial Switch technology is truly a game-changer,” said Jim Venable president of SPMT, LLC. “The technology now offers the best of both worlds between the low-bandwidth power efficiency of a parallel memory system and the boost of extreme bandwidth for demanding applications in an SPMT-based system.”

Smooth migration from LPDDR2 design to SPMT-enabled memory

Advantages for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to migrate from an existing LPDDR2 to an SPMT-based design, and Serial Port Memory Technology claims to offer a low risk solution that provides a smooth migration path. The memory controller architecture and state machine are largely the same for SPMT memory and LPDDR2, and the OEM can source LPDDR2 or SPMT parts for new SoC designs dependent on product requirements, memory availability, and cost.

• Higher performance targets:

SPMT memory provides four times higher bandwidth per pin than LPDDR2

• No board layout constraints:

No additional signal pins for x8/x16 SPMT memory

• Power targets:

Serial Port Memory Technology requires half the power as LPDDR2 for a given bandwidth