There is disagreement over whether NAND- or NOR-gate-based Flash memories are better, but Sunnyvale, California-based NexCom Technology Inc has developed a non-volatile memory architecture, called EE-NOR, based on both NOR- and NAND-based Flash architectures to create a single transistor cell design. The approach combines the high-density aspects of traditional NOR and hot-channel electron architectures of EPROMs and EPROM-Flash devices with low-voltage, high-speed erase and the write capabilities of electrically-erasable Flash architectures. The company has begun a marketing effort aiming to place its architecture in what it calls an emerging area for non-volatile storage: portable and mobile media storage. It is working with Oki Electric Industry Co Ltd of Tokyo to bring to market its new Flash chips, as well as application-specific modules for OEM use (building on the firm’s design-house legacy) and Flash cards for AT bus storage.
