ISSI and Micross Components announce agreement to supply MIL temp memory

SAN JOSE & AUSTIN, USA: Integrated Silicon Solution Inc., a leader in advanced memory solutions, and Micross Components, a global provider of distributed and specialty electronic components, announced an agreement to supply MIL Temp memory to benefit military and other harsh environment applications.

Under the agreement, Micross will offer selected ISSI SDRAM, asynchronous SRAM and synchronous SRAM parts under the Micross brand as Mil Temp memory, after certifying their operation to the extended military temperature range (i.e., -55ºC to +125ºC). While this agreement will certainly increase the availability of MIL Temp commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) product in the marketplace, the most promising aspect of this venture is the decision to focus the offerings on ISSI's copper lead frame plastic packages. Micross will be ISSI's exclusive provider for Mil Temp memory.

Copper lead frames offer significant benefits for high-temp, harsh environment applications. As component engineers and system designers know, copper enhances the long-term reliability of both parts and systems because of its superior thermal conductivity and its greater compatibility with the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of most printed circuit boards (PCB's).

"More simply," says Sean Long, director of marketing, industrial/medical/military for ISSI, "copper dissipates heat faster, allowing systems to run cooler, and results in more reliable solder joints because the leads and the PCB's expand and contract at the same rate. Since both of these factors play a significant role in making these parts viable options for high-temp, harsh-environment applications, we're excited that Micross will be able to expand availability of these products to military and other specialty customers."

The first offerings, which can be previewed at www.micross.com/cotsipems, will be released in early April, with both companies committed to providing long-term product support to the line. "That's one of the shared values that made this business opportunity so attractive to us," says Jeff Kendziorski, Micross' director of marketing & new product development. "ISSI's product life cycles are driven more by customer need, than market forces, so engineers and designers who incorporate these parts into their systems can do so with confidence, knowing that ISSI and Micross will support their programs from start to finish."