Bipolar PROM replacement (was Re: More Info)

[Paul Koning]

>>>>> "Eric" == Eric Smith <eric at brouhaha.com> writes:

 Eric> I wrote about the problems of bipolar PROM replacement.
 >> Why not use a simple PIC with some of the static RAM that was used
 >> for cache RAM of the 486 time frame.  These RAMs were quite
 >> fast. You could then use a single flash RAM to hold the images and
 >> select which one to load to the high speed RAM with a switch or
 >> such.

 Eric> Ferroelectric RAM (FRAM) would be ideal since it is inherently
 Eric> nonvolatile, and the latest chips have effectively eliminated
 Eric> the read endurance problem, but they generally aren't fast
 Eric> enough.

How fast do you need? Ramtron FM18L08 (32k by 8) FRAM has 70 ns
access, 140 ns cycle time.  Not like the fastest known SRAM, but
surely fast enough to keep a PIC happy?

       paul