S99-50198 NOR Flash info needed

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Sergey Kubushyn 12 years ago

Does anybody know what chip is it? Spansion S99-50198, FBGA, made for a "big OEM" that told Spansion not to give specs to anybody?

I do know it is 128Mbit NOR Flash kinda like their S29GL128P so I can figure out most of its specs with regular CFI query but may be somebody know more so I wouldn't have to waste my time reverse-engineering those?

I don't care about their "Top Secret" data or whatever they put there for their own use; I'm only going to use it as regular NOR Flash for a short production run of one of my products.

I have 5K+ of those so it would've been enough for the entire production run that is one-time event.

What is that "big OEM" if somebody knows that?

Any information is highly appreciated.

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Greegor 12 years ago

I see you've got a good rating on eBay!

1mm 1mm-pitch 64-ball BGA surface-mount package. 2010 date code. We don't know much about this part. If you know even less, then you should CLICK HERE and consider starting with a small sample. This appears to be a custom part. It was sold through Arrow Electronics and is still active in Avnet's system. The label on the factory foil states 'D ESC: IC, S99-50198 FLASH, 128M BIT'. We don't have any other information at this time. The package dimensions were calculated from a high-resolution s can. Our best guess of a similar active part is S29AL016J. This is just an educa ted guess based on package and density. We have not performed any electrica l tests. We have the following sealed factory units available: 1360, 1088, 1046, 680

ntity as long as it's a sum of the preceding units. US Shipping is free reg ardless of quantity. We're not going to ship these internationally. Brand: Spansion Date:2010 MPN: S99-50198 Format: Tray Weight: 1.8 oz Size:16MB

Items/Lot:40 Contacts: SURFACE MOUNT One online brokerage says there are

38,000 of these sitting in Singapore. I'm not sure if that's true or not though.

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Sergey Kubushyn 12 years ago

Yep, I do :)

Eh, I do ALREADY have 5K+ sitting on the shelf (6 sealed factory packs) so I don't need any more right now :)

That I do know and I do have those same labels on my factory packs.

Nope, that is definitely NOT that custom part. S29AL016 is _16M BIT_ -- they put MegaBITs in the part number, not MegaBYTEs. I guess the part is S29GL128P judging from similar part numbers (S99-50xxx, don't remember exact xxx right now but it is something like 196 or so, i.e. very close) that multiple chip programmers from different manufacturers list as supported. Aha, it is S99-50196 indeed and Xeltek ever explicitely list it as S29GL128P in their supported devices:

formatting link

So I'm almost sure S99-50198 is S29GL128P with some custom data in their OTP region. It could have password protection and some other quirks set on the factory.

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Jon Elson 12 years ago

DESC is/was the Defense Electronics Supply Center. I wonder if the 599-50198 can be converted into a Federal Stock number? That might lead back to a standard part number.

Jon

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Syd Rumpo 12 years ago

One possibility is that these chips perform well outside their temperature specification. Flash that has been tested and found to work at elevated temperatures (say 180C) is valuable both as parts and as IP. An OEM may well make a lifetime purchase of such devices to protect against process changes which could (or probably would) remove this accidental feature.

In this case the 'big OEM' would likely be a player in oil well instrumentation.

Cheers

Syd

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Syd Rumpo 12 years ago

Just to add, it could actually be *designed* for high temp rather than a re-numbered accidental find. That would mean that the OEM would indeed be big.

Syd

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Sergey Kubushyn 12 years ago

I'm almost 100% sure the standard part number is S29GL128P. This S99xxxx part might have some custom features like preprogrammed passwords, booltoader code with sector protection etc. That is where it becomes interesting. I don't need any proprietary information and can leave with OTP portion preprogrammed with something so I would consider it simply defective. I only need a pure Flash that I can erase and reprogram with whatever I need.

It's also possible that it is just regular Flash with extended temperature range or strict mil qualification but I seriously doubt that...

****************************************************************** * KSI@home KOI8 Net < > The impossible we do immediately. * * Las Vegas NV, USA < > Miracles require 24-hour notice. * ******************************************************************

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S99-50198 NOR Flash info needed

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