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CC3200 and Serial Flash

Philip Kristament
Prodigy 220 points
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: CC3200

Kia Ora CC3200 Users

We are planning on using the fabled OTA software update capability of the CC3200 in our end product which will be, if all goes well, a wearable device. As such we wish to be rid of uneccessary connections for sense on power initial software load, gang programmers and the like.

In theory this is practicle from what I have found out.

Our first concern was wether there was a programmer that would flash the selected serial flash without it being mounted on a PCB.

The answer is yes.

Our chosen serial flash is the Macronix MX25L12835FZNI-10G which is a 6x5mm 8-WSON. There is at least one programmer which has an adapter for this chip. This is the Advin SuperPro-6100, which uses the adapter DX4005#1. ( The adapter can be seen at http://www.advin.com/universal-programmer/universal-programmer-adapters-DX.htm )

It may also be possible to program the serial flash on the production line before it is placed on the PCB. Still not sure if this in-production programmer will support the Macronix MX25L12835FZNI-10G however they sure as hell do it with other flash memory. They are Digital I/O Corporation and they "Program boot and test code inline with RoadRunner at SMT Line" .

Our second concern was wether NOR Serial Flash would keep it's flashed files intact during the high temperatures experienced during Reflow. Gosh that's a hard question to get an answer to. I asked Macronix but didn't get very far. However I did get a response from Deppen, Nick <Deppenn@dataio.com> of Digital I/O Corporation who responded as follows...

Hello,

NOR Flash memory is commonly flashed prior to PCB assembly and reflow.

Like single-level cell NAND Flash memory, NOR Flash memory is not susceptible to data retention issues associated with multi-level cell NAND below 20nm lithography.

Since the publication of Anthony's presentation on data-retention best practices and MLC NAND below 20nm, semiconductor manufacturers like Micron and Toshiba have made improvements on NAND aware-state features to compensate for cell drift due to temperature both in manufacturing and in application.

Best regards,
Nick

Our final question has to do with any TI proprietary files that will have to be flashed onto the serial flash along with our application. It appears from the literature that erasing the evaluation board's flash memory erases TI files which are proprietary.

When we finally (if ever) get to the production line will there be any problem having all the TI files to flash the serial flash?

  • 0
    Prodigy 120 points

    Hello Philip,

    Many programmer manufacturers have production equipment that support Macronix serial flash.  Here is a link to a list of manufacterers: http://www.macronix.com/en-us/Support/ProgrammerManufacturers/Pages/default.aspx

    Regarding your data retention question after solder reflow: Macronix NOR serial flash technology uses SLC (Single- level Cell) in 55nm, 70nm, or larger geometries and is very tolerant of solder reflow temperature cycles. During our production flow, 100% of our products are pre-programmed with random data and baked for 24 hours at 250C and then checked for data integrity. Any failing die are rejected early in the production flow. We believe this temperature stress is much greater than what is typically experiened durng solder relfow. 

    Futhermore, Macronix conducts several relability tests (ex. Pre-conditioning which includes 3 times IR reflow, HTSL, HTOL, ) to check the effectiveness of our data retention screening.

    Qualification samples are pre-programmed  with a random pattern in the memory array before reliability tests, then data integrity is checked after each reliability test during flash qualification and reliability monitoring.

    From qualification results, no data error failures were found after Pre-conditioning (with 3 times IR reflow) or after 1000 hours HTSL (High Temperature Storage Life) at 150C.

    So, the embedded code storage applications with IR reflow on pre-programmed code should be ok.

    Best regards,

    -Rick Culver