Memory takes the gamble out of system design

Ferroelectric RAM replaces battery-backed SRAM in Aewin's gaming SBC to guarantee data integrity with a lower component count, less mechanical contact, higher reliability and greater security.

Taiwanese applied industrial computing platform manufacturer Aewin Technologies has designed Ramtron's FM22L16 4Mbit nonvolatile F-RAM into its Intel-based GA-2000 and AMD-based GA-3000 gaming and high-definition multimedia PC boards.

The 4Mbit F-RAM - with its fast writes, high endurance, and low power - has replaced battery-backed SRAM in Aewin's gaming solution to guarantee data integrity with a lower component count, less mechanical contact, higher reliability and higher security.

Casinos are increasingly replacing traditional slot machines and table games with advanced electronic gaming solutions that offer high-performance computing, graphics technology and embedded security to protect system integrity and prevent hacking.

In addition to electronic gaming, the gambling industry is adopting electronics technology to provide real-time player tracking, surveillance, security, data analysis and accounting.

Electronic gaming today accounts for 70 to 80% of casino revenue, which reduces operating costs, increases profitability, and eases product development.

"We have replaced battery-backed SRAM with F-RAM in our GA-2000 and GA-3000 designs", explains Aewin Project Manager, Ken Huang.

"F-RAM is widely recognised as the memory of choice in industrial PC designs for casino video gaming".

Today's casinos are based on a network of embedded, server-based systems that communicate seamlessly with one another from gaming devices and their peripherals, to the host systems that track player activity, and the hospitality transactions and kiosks where players cash out.

Each server can control networks at a single casino or at multiple sites to provide software updates, schedule maintenance, or change the mix of games.

The GA-2000 and GA-3000 are Gaming Standards Association (GSA)-compliant, meeting advanced communication standards and providing a computer platform to evaluate many types of gaming and amusement machine applications.

The GA-2000/3000 are full-featured all-in-one boards containing the CPU, system memory, F-RAM, solid-state disk storage, I/O functions, and an audio amplifier to enable gaming or amusement machines that consume little power and provide superior 2D/3D graphic performance.

Low-power F-RAM memory is used in the GA-2000/3000 as a unified memory to buffer game settings, system status, logged transactions, and winning records among other functions.

F-RAM's fast writes and high endurance are essential for the continuous storing of configurable parameters such as betting behaviour, odds, transaction records, and won or collected credits, as well as restoring data after a power outage.

F-RAM also stores security parameters such as the number of times a logic area or cash door is accessed, enabling the casino to monitor and record events that identify unauthorised access to the machine.

F-RAM offers the benefits of RAM technology, but is nonvolatile.

F-RAM provides NoDelay write access, virtually unlimited write endurance (approximately 100 trillion write cycles), and low power consumption.

Compared with EEPROM and Flash, F-RAM writes faster and many more times with less power.

F-RAM also consumes much lower power than MRAM and is already commercially proven in demanding applications.

The FM22L16 is a 4Mbit, 3V, parallel F-RAM device based on a groundbreaking 130nm CMOS manufacturing process.

Available in a 44-pin TSOP package, this high-density F-RAM is a drop-in replacement for asynchronous SRAM, but does not need a battery to back up data, making F-RAM inherently more reliable with a smaller footprint.

Boasting a fast access time of 55ns and a 110ns cycle time, the FM22L16 draws 18mA at full speed, 150uA in standby, and below 5uA in ultra-low-current sleep mode.

The FM22L16 includes hardware write protection to prevent inadvertent writes and data corruption.

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