Hi,

> >Which is EXACTLY why we DON'T rely on EEPROM; we use FRAM!  Ferroelectric
> >RAM (there's nothing magnetic about it, folks, the ``ferro'' moniker is
> >historical accident) is batteryless nonvolatile RAM which writes and reads
>
> Aye ? Doesn't the memory cell exploit a valence change of a bound Fe atom ?

I don't think so.

I believe (from what I have read) that the name is a result of the
use of a dielectric hysteresis mechanism with an operating curve
similar to the magnetic hysteresis B-H curve.  Some marketing person
presumably thought there was a connection between hysteresis and
the term 'Ferro'.

Sort of the way Microchip went and did themselves a disservice
by having their 16C tools also work unannounced on the 16F devices
and not listing the 16F devices in the general architecture tables.

The 'F' in 16F84 is similar to the 'F' in FRAM, a marketing botch.

It seems that F is a popular letter at the moment.

Cheers
--
Kalle Pihlajasaari   kalle@ip.co.za   http://www.ip.co.za/ip
Interface Products   P O Box 15775, DOORNFONTEIN, 2028, South Africa
+ 27 (11) 402-7750   Fax: 402-7751    http://www.ip.co.za/people/kalle

DonTronics, Silicon Studio and Wirz Electronics uP Product Dealer