Electronic – Need a non-volatile memory IC with near unlimited read/write operations capability

memorymicrocontrollernon-volatile-memory

I need a memory solution which is going to be used to keep track of an accumulated count on a micro-controller based project.

By accumulated count, I mean to say that the micro-controller uses this memory location to keep count of the occurrence of an event. The count needs to be preserved during power outages, hence the need for NON-VOLATILE memory.

Also the occurrence of the count increment event is frequent hence there will be a lot of writes to the memory hence my hesitation to use EEPROM.

The preferred communication interface will be I2C, but other alternatives are welcome.

Off the top of my head, I envision an SRAM low-power volatile memory IC with the option of being powered by a backup battery like a coin cell on power-downs.

Best Answer

Three non-volatile memory types match your needs, in order of available size:

  • Wear leveled EEPROM/FLASH.
  • Battery backup SRAM.
  • FRAM.

In terms of cost, FRAM is best. All you need is inside the chip, including backup capacitors to complete writing. However available sizes are low.
Battery backup SRAM is large and costly in materials.
Wear leveled EEPROM requires firmware to handle the wear leveling.