Schneider Electric Selected Everspin for 16Mb MRAM

Everspin Technologies, Inc., developer and manufacturer of discrete and embedded MRAM, is providing its 16Mb MR4A16BMA35 Magneto-resistive RAM (MRAM) to users of Schneider Electric’s Modicon M580 High End Controllers, offering them backup capabilities.

Schneider Electric is a specialist in energy management and automation. Launched in January 2016, its high-end Modicon M580 Ethernet Programmable Automation Controller (ePAC) is the flagship product of the Modicon controller range. It features controller redundancy (hot standby CPUs), native Ethernet inside the backplane and boasts the largest memory and performance on the market. In addition, it has cyber security features embedded at its core. The Modicon M580 ePAC is the first PAC built for the industrial Internet of Things and is the high-end integrated controller of PlantStruxure, Schneider Electric’s automation architecture.

Designed for applications requiring data reliability and speed,16Mb MR4 A16BMA35 MRAM benefits system designers with fast non-volatile memory, symmetrical R/W performance and unlimited endurance. These memory features ensure automation designers that process data is retained deterministically and safely every time a power interruption occurs. In addition to the performance, the technology also allows a battery free eco-design.

“Being able to offer our M580 ePAC customers 4MB of retained memory without the usual constraints means they don’t have to be limited on the process data they can retain,” said Florent Lacharme, product marketing manager, Modicon M580, Schneider Electric. “This is ample memory that is maintenance free and instantly available at power-on.“

“Everspin is excited that Schneider Electric, an industry leader in programmable automation controllers, has designed its latest controller with our 16Mb MRAM,” said Phill LoPresti, president and CEO, Everspin. “This is a great endorsement of the value that our MRAM technology brings to the industrial market and, as the only supplier of MRAM, it demonstrates the confidence that industrial customers have in our products.“

“Everspin understands the unique demands of customers in industrial markets,” said Jean-Jacques Adragna, architect manager, Schneider Electric. “Features like long term data retention and extreme temperature support are very important in often harsh industrial environments. The inherent endurance of the technology simplifies and speeds product development by avoiding the use of ECCs and wear leveling schemes required with other non-volatile memory technologies. Everspin is a trusted technology supplier that gives us visibility on its comprehensive roadmap, helping to shape our long term strategy.“

16Mb MR4A16BMA35 MRAM is in production in a standard 48-ball BGA package and is designed to be used in a system like any standard 16-bit parallel SRAM memory with no software overhead. Unlike SRAM, it is instantly non-volatile, meaning that the memory bits retain their state even after power is removed, without the need for external power sources.