Mark LaPedus

EE Times

(03/06/2006 7:51 PM EST)

SAN FRANCISCO — Intel Corp. is in the process of launching an initiative to define a standard interface for NAND-based flash memory devices, the company said Monday (March 6).

Intel and undisclosed partners will shortly launch the Open NAND Flash Interface (ONFI) initiative. The idea is not to define a new card standard, but rather develop a component interface standard for the devices themselves, said Knut Grimsrud, Intel Fellow and director of storage architecture for the company.

“This is not a card standard,” Grimsrud said in a presentation here. “We need a new card standard like we need a hole in our heads.”

He declined to identify the partners in the group. He also did not elaborate on the specifics of the standard.

The idea behind a NAND interface standard is clear, he said. It reduces needless component behavior variations that complicate integration, according to Intel.

It also avoids design pre-association with specific NAND devices to accelerate product cycles. And it improves ability for host products to make timely use of a new generation of NAND components, according to Intel.

Earlier this year, Intel entered the NAND market. Micron Technology Inc. recently closed a deal to create IM Flash Technologies LLC, a joint venture company formed with Intel Corp. to manufacture NAND flash memory chips.

Intel is moving towards a similar effort in NOR flash. Last year, STMicroelectronics NV and Intel collaborated to develop a NOR-flash memory subsystem for inclusion in mobile phone handsets. The two companies said they would provide hardware- and software-compatible memory products based on common specifications.