There have traditionally been two ways to increase an application’s RAM:
- Use a larger microcontroller (MCU): this option is less attractive if you must buy a larger, more expensive MCU just to get more RAM
- Use external parallel RAM: but parallel RAM uses large packages and typically requires at least 16-20 I/Os
Serial SRAM offers you the flexibility to add RAM to you design without the disadvantages of a large MCU or parallel RAM and uses the simple 4-pin SPI interface. These devices also offer improved performance with the SDI and SQI interface that offers up to a 4x improvement in data rates.