Silicon Storage Technology
Encyclopedia
Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. (SST) is a Sunnyvale
, California
, USA, technology company producing non-volatile memory
devices and related products.
It was founded by Bing Yeh in 1989.
SST is a major supplier of NOR flash and integrated circuits addressing the requirements of high-volume applications in the Internet computing, digital consumer, networking, and wireless communications markets.
Non-volatile memory
devices retain data without a continuous supply of power.
Virtually every microprocessor or microcontroller-based electronic system requires non-volatile memory to store a basic instruction set critical to the operation of the system.
Prior to 1989, read-only memory
(ROM), UV-light erasable PROM (EPROM
), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM
), and the then-emerging flash memory
created a succession of increasingly useful non-volatile memory products for this purpose.
However, these products lacked important features, or were too expensive, for some desirable applications.
At the 1992 Fall COMDEX
show, SST introduced the world’s first single-board 30 MB
2.5” solid-state drive
with standard hard-disk ATA
interface and a 5 MB PC Card
memory card with built-in controller and firmware.
At that time, the company deemed there to be an inadequate market for the devices, and focused on the memory component business.
In 1993, SST moved to its current headquarters in Sunnyvale
. That same year, SST introduced its first SuperFlash technology products, with lower costs and faster write speeds. By the end of 1995, more than 90% of the PC motherboards produced in Taiwan had adopted SST's 1 Mbit
SuperFlash EEPROM product for the BIOS
storage. SST went public on the NASDAQ market in November 1995.
During the next 10 years, SST introduced low- to medium density memory products and expanded their applications beyond PCs. By the end of 2006, SST and its licensees had shipped more than seven billion integrated circuits based on SuperFlash technology. SST products are now used by almost every major electronic system manufacturer and can be found in virtually every type of IT and consumer product.
In 2004, SST began an initiative to diversify beyond flash memory products, targeting consumer and industrial products with embedded solid-state data storage and RF wireless communication.
In 2010, SST was acquired by Microchip Technology
, which sold several SST flash memory assets to Greenliant Systems
in May that year.
Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley located in the San Francisco Bay Area...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, USA, technology company producing non-volatile memory
Non-volatile memory
Non-volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, NVM or non-volatile storage, in the most basic sense, is computer memory that can retain the stored information even when not powered. Examples of non-volatile memory include read-only memory, flash memory, ferroelectric RAM, most types of magnetic computer...
devices and related products.
It was founded by Bing Yeh in 1989.
SST is a major supplier of NOR flash and integrated circuits addressing the requirements of high-volume applications in the Internet computing, digital consumer, networking, and wireless communications markets.
History
Bing Yeh and a team of engineers developed a non-volatile memory technology the company called "SuperFlash" for code or data storage in electronic systems and embedded memory for integrated logic circuits.Non-volatile memory
Non-volatile memory
Non-volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, NVM or non-volatile storage, in the most basic sense, is computer memory that can retain the stored information even when not powered. Examples of non-volatile memory include read-only memory, flash memory, ferroelectric RAM, most types of magnetic computer...
devices retain data without a continuous supply of power.
Virtually every microprocessor or microcontroller-based electronic system requires non-volatile memory to store a basic instruction set critical to the operation of the system.
Prior to 1989, read-only memory
Read-only memory
Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
(ROM), UV-light erasable PROM (EPROM
EPROM
An EPROM , or erasable programmable read only memory, is a type of memory chip that retains its data when its power supply is switched off. In other words, it is non-volatile. It is an array of floating-gate transistors individually programmed by an electronic device that supplies higher voltages...
), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM
EEPROM
EEPROM stands for Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory and is a type of non-volatile memory used in computers and other electronic devices to store small amounts of data that must be saved when power is removed, e.g., calibration...
), and the then-emerging flash memory
Flash memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...
created a succession of increasingly useful non-volatile memory products for this purpose.
However, these products lacked important features, or were too expensive, for some desirable applications.
At the 1992 Fall COMDEX
COMDEX
COMDEX was a computer expo held in Las Vegas, Nevada, each November from 1979 to 2003. It was one of the largest computer trade shows in the world, usually second only to the German CeBIT, and by many accounts one of the largest trade shows in any industry sector...
show, SST introduced the world’s first single-board 30 MB
Megabyte
The megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission with two different values depending on context: bytes generally for computer memory; and one million bytes generally for computer storage. The IEEE Standards Board has decided that "Mega will mean 1 000...
2.5” solid-state drive
Solid-state drive
A solid-state drive , sometimes called a solid-state disk or electronic disk, is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to store persistent data with the intention of providing access in the same manner of a traditional block i/o hard disk drive...
with standard hard-disk ATA
AT Attachment
Parallel ATA , originally ATA, is an interface standard for the connection of storage devices such as hard disks, solid-state drives, floppy drives, and optical disc drives in computers. The standard is maintained by X3/INCITS committee...
interface and a 5 MB PC Card
PC Card
In computing, PC Card is the form factor of a peripheral interface designed for laptop computers. The PC Card standard was defined and developed by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association which itself was created by a number of computer industry companies in the United States...
memory card with built-in controller and firmware.
At that time, the company deemed there to be an inadequate market for the devices, and focused on the memory component business.
In 1993, SST moved to its current headquarters in Sunnyvale
Sunnyvale
Sunnyvale may refer to:*Sunnyvale, California, a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, and the most populous place with this name*Sunnyvale, Auckland, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand*Sunnyvale, Otago, a suburb of Dunedin, New Zealand...
. That same year, SST introduced its first SuperFlash technology products, with lower costs and faster write speeds. By the end of 1995, more than 90% of the PC motherboards produced in Taiwan had adopted SST's 1 Mbit
Megabit
The megabit is a multiple of the unit bit for digital information or computer storage. The prefix mega is defined in the International System of Units as a multiplier of 106 , and therefore...
SuperFlash EEPROM product for the BIOS
BIOS
In IBM PC compatible computers, the basic input/output system , also known as the System BIOS or ROM BIOS , is a de facto standard defining a firmware interface....
storage. SST went public on the NASDAQ market in November 1995.
During the next 10 years, SST introduced low- to medium density memory products and expanded their applications beyond PCs. By the end of 2006, SST and its licensees had shipped more than seven billion integrated circuits based on SuperFlash technology. SST products are now used by almost every major electronic system manufacturer and can be found in virtually every type of IT and consumer product.
In 2004, SST began an initiative to diversify beyond flash memory products, targeting consumer and industrial products with embedded solid-state data storage and RF wireless communication.
In 2010, SST was acquired by Microchip Technology
Microchip Technology
Microchip Technology is an American manufacturer of microcontroller, memory and analog semiconductors. Its products include microcontrollers , Serial EEPROM devices, Serial SRAM devices, KEELOQ devices, radio frequency devices, thermal, power and battery management analog devices, as well as...
, which sold several SST flash memory assets to Greenliant Systems
Greenliant Systems
Greenliant Systems is a manufacturer of flash memory, solid-state storage and controller semiconductors for embedded system, data center and mobile products. Greenliant was founded in 2010, when former Silicon Storage Technology CEO Bing Yeh acquired several flash memory assets from the company...
in May that year.
External links
- SST
- Silicon Storage Technology at The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- Hoover's Overview