AN2081

APPLICATION NOTE
How to Migrate from the
M95 SPI EEPROM to the M25PE SPI Serial Flash

This Application Note describes how to migrate from the M95 family of SPI EEPROMs to the M25PE family
of SPI Serial Flash memories.
EEPROM devices are limited in density due to the cell architecture and technology. Memories based on
Flash technology are more suitable for applications that require higher densities.
The M25PE family of Serial Flash memories have been designed to offer byte granularity to make them
compatible with EEPROMs. For this reason the M25PE devices are the ideal products to complement the
EEPROM portfolio for higher densities (see Figure 1.).

Figure 1. M95 EEPROM and M25PE Serial Flash Portfolio

tion
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..... Mb E
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.... ...
......... ..... lash
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..... 2K
... b, 5
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AI08686

September 2008 1/15

AN2081 - APPLICATION NOTE

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Figure 1. M95 EEPROM and M25PE Serial Flash Portfolio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

PINOUT COMPATABILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Figure 2. Pin Connections for 8 Pin Packages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
M95 (EEPROM) Hold Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
M25PE (Serial Flash) Reset Input. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

BOARD LAYOUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Figure 3. Cross sections of the MLP and SO8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Figure 4. Board Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

ARCHITECTURE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Figure 5. Comparison of Block Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

SPI PROTOCOL COMPATIBILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

PROGRAM AND ERASE GRANULARITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

EEPROM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Figure 6. Example of Write Instruction for two Bytes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Figure 7. Automatic Steps in M95 Write Instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Serial Flash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Figure 8. Automatic Steps in M25PE Page Write Instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

INSTRUCTION SET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Table 1. Instruction Comparison M95 vs. M25PE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Table 2. Additional Instructions in M25PE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

PROTECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
M95 EEPROM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Table 3. M95 Status Register Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Table 4. M95 Write-Protected Block Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Figure 9. M95 Protect State Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
M25PE Serial Flash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

CONCLUSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

REVISION HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Table 5. Document Revision History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

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 AN2081 - APPLICATION NOTE

PINOUT COMPATABILITY
Figure 2. gives the pinout for all the 8 pin packages in the M25PE and M95 families. The only difference
is pin 7, which is a RESET signal in M25PE devices, whereas it is a HOLD signal in M95 devices.

Figure 2. Pin Connections for 8 Pin Packages

S 1 8 VCC
Q 2 7 RESET (M25PE) HOLD (M95)
W 3 6 C
VSS 4 5 D

AI08681

M95 (EEPROM) Hold Input

The Hold (HOLD) input is used to pause any serial communications with the device without deselecting
the device. This signal is useful if, for example, the clock is free running (not controlled by the master) and
the master needs time to service an interrupt routine occuring during an M95 read sequence.
During the Hold condition, the Serial Data Output (Q) is high impedance, and Serial Data Input (D) and
Serial Clock (C) are Don’t Care. The memory will enter the Hold condition when: Hold (HOLD), Chip Select
(S) and Clock (C) are driven Low.

M25PE (Serial Flash) Reset Input

The M25PE Reset (Reset) input provides a hardware reset for the memory. In this mode, the outputs are
high impedance. It is useful during critical operations such as power up and power down and when there
is a problem with noise.
When Reset (Reset) is driven High, the memory is in the normal operating mode. When Reset (Reset) is
driven Low, the memory will enter the Reset mode. Driving Reset (Reset) Low while an internal operation
is in progress can effect the on-going operation (a write cycle, program cycle, or erase cycle).

If neither the Hold nor the Reset inputs are required in the application, then, as both signals are active low,
the pin should be connected High so that these features do not affect the application.
If the features are used, then the application must take into account the difference in their behavior.

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AN2081 - APPLICATION NOTE

BOARD LAYOUT
The board layout can be adapted to receive the different packages.
■ SO8N compatible with the MLP (5x6mm) footprint
■ SO8W compatible with the MLP (8x6mm) footprint
The tracks of the footprints of the SO8N or MLP (5x6mm) can be stretched to accommodate the footprints
of the SO8W or the MLP (8x6mm).
Note: Care must be taken to avoid any short-circuit between the tracks of the SO8N or the MLP (5x6mm)
footprint and the central conductive pad on the underside of the MLP (8x6mm) package (see Figure 3.).

Figure 3. Cross sections of the MLP and SO8

0.07”

SO8

0.25”

0.04”
MLP
ai07605

Both these footprints can then be inserted inside the SO16W footprint (see Figure 4.).

Figure 4. Board Layout

RESET / HOLD
VCC

C
D

RESET C
VCC D
DU DU
DU DU
DU DU
DU DU
S VSS
Q W
S
Q
W
VSS

SO16W footprint

SO8N, SO8W footprint

(longer pads to accommodate both)
AI08682

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 AN2081 - APPLICATION NOTE

ARCHITECTURE
Figure 5. shows the Block Diagrams for both the M95 and M25PE devices. The diagrams highlight the
principle differences in the device architecture:
■ Byte Write for M95 devices directly through the SRAM buffer, Byte Write for M25PE using the SRAM
buffer to copy the content of the rest of the page (see PROGRAM AND ERASE GRANULARITY
section for more details)
■ Hardware and Software protection for the M95 devices, Hardware protection on last 256 pages for
M25PE devices (see PROTECTION section for more details).

Figure 5. Comparison of Block Diagrams

M95 EEPROM M25 Serial Flash

M95 M25PE
SRAM Buffer SRAM Buffer
D
D
SPI SPI
C
Peripheral C Peripheral

Last Sector
Q
Q
Byte Write

Byte Write
Software Protection

S Control S Control
HOLD
Logic Logic
RESET

Hardware Protection
W W Hardware Protection
(first 256 pages protected)

SRWD BP1 BP0 WELWIP WELWIP

Status Register Status Register

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AN2081 - APPLICATION NOTE

SPI PROTOCOL COMPATIBILITY

Both the EEPROM and Serial Flash families are accessed by the Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) bus.
The SPI protocol is commonly used by applications and gives a high speed access to the memory content
using only 4 pins:
Chip Select (S): this input is used to select or deselect the memory, it allows many SPI devices to be
connected in the one application
Serial Clock (C): this input signal provides the timing of the serial interface
Serial Data Input (D): this input is used to serially transfer data into the device.
Serial Data Output (Q): this output is used to serially transfer data out of the device.
The SPI protocol used for the EEPROM and the Serial Flash are compatible but care must be taken on
the timing as the Serial Flash operates at a higher frequency (see datasheets for details).

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 AN2081 - APPLICATION NOTE

PROGRAM AND ERASE GRANULARITY

EEPROM
M 95 EEPROMs have:
■ an Erase granularity of one byte, where the byte content is erased to FFh or 00h according to the
design choice
■ a Program granularity of one byte, where each bit of the byte can be independently programmed to
the opposite of the erase level.
In EEPROMs, program and erase operations are combined in the Write instruction. Therefore the appli-
cation does not need to erase the byte before the program operation, as the byte erase operation is in-
cluded in the instruction, which means that it is not necessary to know the content of the byte before the
update.
For example, if the application needs to update two bytes located at address N+2, it has to send the Write
instruction, followed by address N+2, followed by the two bytes of data (see Figure 6.).
To be able to do this, the EEPROM performs three different automatic internal operations (see Figure 7.):
Step 1: data are input sequentially and stored in the corresponding address of the buffer.
Step 2: the two bytes at address N+2 are erased
Step 3: the two bytes are programmed from the buffer into the memory array
All these operations are transparent for the application, as they are done automatically with the Write In-
structions.

Figure 6. Example of Write Instruction for two Bytes

Data Line (Q and D)

A2 AA
Instruction
Code Address N+2 AAh 55h

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AN2081 - APPLICATION NOTE

Figure 7. Automatic Steps in M95 Write Instruction

STEP 1, Data Input

Internal Buffer
data input FFh FFh AAh 55h FFh FFh

00000h Memory Array

xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh

Address N+2 10h 06h 15h 00h 56h 33h

xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh

FFFFFh

STEP 2, Bytes Erased

Internal Buffer
FFh FFh AAh 55h FFh FFh

00000h Memory Array

xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh

Address N+2 10h 06h FFh FFh 56h 33h

xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh

FFFFFh

STEP 3, Bytes Programmed into Memory Array

Internal Buffer
FFh FFh AAh 55h FFh FFh

00000h Memory Array

xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh

Address N+2 10h 06h AAh 55h 56h 33h

xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh

FFFFFh

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 AN2081 - APPLICATION NOTE

Serial Flash
ST’s Serial Flash memory have:
■ an Erase granularity of 256 Bytes (one Page), where the page content is erased to FFh, which is a
higher granularity compared to standard Flash memories that are erased at the block level.
■ a Program granularity of one Byte, where each bit of the byte can be independently programmed to
0 (equivalent to the EEPROM granularity in the case of a pre-erased Byte)
As the Erase and Program granularity are different, there are two different instructions to program and
erase a Serial Flash:
■ Page Erase instruction (erase only)
■ Byte Program instruction (program only)
These two different instructions are useful to optimize the update time or the memory cycling. If an area
is already erased, then the erase operation can be omitted which will speed up the overall programming
time and reduce memory cycling. The erase instruction can also be used to erase an area when the device
is idle, so that when the area is programmed later, only the program operation is required.

To simplify the byte granularity management, Numonyx Serial Flash feature an automatic byte write em-
ulation equivalent to the EEPROM, where like the EEPROM, a Page Write instruction will erase and pro-
gram one byte without knowing its previous value and without changing any other data in the page.
To take the same example as shown in Figure 6., if the application needs to update two bytes located at
address N+2, it has to send the Page Write instruction, followed by address N+2, followed by the two bytes
of data.
To be able to do this, the Numonyx Serial Flash uses an internal 256 Bytes SRAM buffer to backup the
rest of the page, which must be kept unchanged.
The Numonyx Serial Flash performs three different automatic operations (see Figure 8.):
Step 1: data are input sequentially and stored in the corresponding address of the buffer
Step 2: all unaddressed bytes of the page are copied from the memory array into the buffer
Step 3: the addressed page is erased
Step 4: the buffer content is programmed into the addressed page
All these operations are transparent for the application, as they are done automatically with the Page Write
Instruction.

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AN2081 - APPLICATION NOTE

Figure 8. Automatic Steps in M25PE Page Write Instruction

STEP 1, Data Input STEP 2, Page Copied into Buffer

(unaddressed bytes only)
Internal Buffer Internal Buffer
data input
FFh FFh AAh 55h FFh FFh 10h 06h AAh 55h 56h 33h

00000h Memory Array 00000h Memory Array

xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh

Address N+2 10h 06h 15h 00h 56h 33h Address N+2 10h 06h 15h 00h 56h 33h

xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh

FFFFFh FFFFFh

STEP 3, Page Erased STEP 4, Bytes Programmed into Memory Array

Internal Buffer Internal Buffer

10h 06h AAh 55h 56h 33h FFh FFh AAh 55h FFh FFh

00000h Memory Array 00000h Memory Array

xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh

Address N+2 FFh FFh FFh FFh FFh FFh Address N+2 10h 06h AAh 55h 56h 33h

xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh xxh

FFFFFh FFFFFh

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 AN2081 - APPLICATION NOTE

INSTRUCTION SET
Table 1. shows a comparison of the instructions of the M95 and the M25PE families.
The first time a Serial Flash device is programmed the Page Program instruction (02h) is equivalent to the
EEPROM Write instruction (02h). This is because the Serial Flash is delivered with the content erased, so
the memory can be programmed byte by byte as for the EEPROM.
For subsequent program operations, where the initial byte content is not FFh, the application must use the
Serial Flash Page Write instruction (0Ah) to perform an operation equivalent to the EEPROM Write instruc-
tion (02h).
The M25PE family has additional instructions (see Table 2. ) that are not available in the M95 family.
One of these is the Read Identification instruction which can be used to differentiate the Serial Flash from
the EEPROM, allowing the application to select the appropriate instruction code. As the Read Identifica-
tion instruction is not available in EEPROMs, the EEPROM will remain in High Impedance if this instruction
is sent on the SPI bus.
If the Output line (Q), is connected to VCC through a pull-up resistor or to ground (VSS) through a pull-down
resistor, the application will read FFh or 00h as the EEPROM signature.

Table 1. Instruction Comparison M95 vs. M25PE

Instruction Code
Instruction
Description M95xx M25PExx
WREN Write Enable 06h 06h
WRDI Write Disable 04h 04h
RDSR Read Status Register 05h 05h
WRSR Write Status Register 01h 01h
M95 - Read from Memory Array,
READ 03h 03h
M25PE - Read Data Bytes
M95 - Write to Memory Array
02h 02h
WRITE, PP, PW M25PE - Page Program
M25PE - Page Write - 0Ah

Table 2. Additional Instructions in M25PE

Instruction Description Instruction Code
Read Identification - provides the manufacturer, memory
RDID 9Fh
and density ID
FAST_READ Read Data Bytes at Higher Speed 0Bh
PE Page Erase (256 Bytes at once) DBh
SE Sector Erase (64KBytes at once) D8h
BE Bulk Erase (the whole memory array) C7h
Deep Power-down - protects the memory contents and
DP B9h
reduces the power consumption
Release from Deep Power-down - exits from deep power-
RDP ABh
down mode

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AN2081 - APPLICATION NOTE

PROTECTION
M95 EEPROM
The M95 family has various protection mechanisms:
■ To prevent data corruption, an internal VCC comparator inhibits all the M95 functions if the VCC voltage
is lower than the POR threshold.
■ The non-volatile Block Protect bits, located in the Status Register, allow parts of the memory to be
configured as read-only (see Table 3. and Table 4.).
■ The Hardware Protection mode can be used to prevent write operations in the Status Register,
thereby protecting bits SRWD, BP2, BP1 and BP0 from being modified (see Figure 5.). The mode is
entered by:
– setting the Status Register Write protect bit (SRWD) to 1
– applying a Low-level voltage to the Write Protect pin (W).
Once the Hardware protection mode is entered (State C in Figure 5.), the only way to exit is to apply VCC
on the Write Protect pin W. If the W pin is hardware connected to the ground (VSS), then it is impossible
to change the protection.

Table 3. M95 Status Register Format

b7 b0
SRWD 0 0 0 BP1 BP0 WEL WIP

Status Register Write Protect

Block Protect Bits
Write Enable Latch Bit
Write In Progress Bit

Table 4. M95 Write-Protected Block Size

Status Register Bits
Protected Block
BP1 BP0
0 0 none
0 1 Upper quarter
1 0 Upper half
1 1 Whole memory

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 AN2081 - APPLICATION NOTE

Figure 9. M95 Protect State Diagram

W=1 W=1
SRWD=0 SRWD=1
Software WRSR
State-A State-D
Software WRSR

Hardware W=VSS

Hardware W=VSS
Hardware W=VCC
Hardware W=VCC

Software WRSR
State-B State-C

Hardware Protection:
W=0 W=0 All write accesses to the
SRWD=0 SRWD=1 Status Register are rejected

AI08689

M25PE Serial Flash

The M25PE family has various protection mechanisms:
■ To prevent data corruption, an internal VCC comparator inhibits all M25PE functions if the VCC voltage
is lower than the POR threshold.
■ Write operations are prevented for a further 15ms (max) after VCC goes above the POR value.
■ The Write protect pin (W) can be used to put the device in Hardware Protected mode, which protects
the upper 256 pages (64KBytes) against write operations.

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AN2081 - APPLICATION NOTE

CONCLUSION
The M25PE is a family of Serial Flash memories with a Serial Peripheral Interface. The M25PE devices
have been designed to compliment ST’s Serial EEPROM family at higher densities, and so may be used
to replace an M95 in an application. The M25PE Serial Flash are fully hardware-compatible with the M95
EEPROMs and are also software-compatible, as long as the minor points highlighted in this application
notes are taken into account.

REFERENCES
The following datasheets are available ( on www.numonyx.com or from your Numonyx distributor):
■ SPI EEPROM
– M95040, M95020, M95010
– M95256, M95128
– M95160, M95080
– M95640, M95320
– M95512
■ SPI Serial Flash
– M25PE10
– M25PE20
– M25PE40
– M25PE80

REVISION HISTORY

Table 5. Document Revision History

Date Version Revision Details
09-Dec-2004 1.0 First Issue
03-Sept-2008 2.0 Applied Numonyx branding.

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 AN2081 - APPLICATION NOTE

Please Read Carefully:

INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH NUMONYX™ PRODUCTS. NO

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RIGHTS IS GRANTED BY THIS DOCUMENT. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN NUMONYX'S TERMS AND
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NUMONYX DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY, RELATING TO SALE AND/OR USE OF
NUMONYX PRODUCTS INCLUDING LIABILITY OR WARRANTIES RELATING TO FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY, OR INFRINGEMENT OF ANY PATENT, COPYRIGHT OR
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systems, or in nuclear facility applications.
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Numonyx, B.V. may have patents or pending patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual
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or incompatibilities arising from future changes to them.
Contact your local Numonyx sales office or your distributor to obtain the latest specifications and before placing
your product order.
Copies of documents which have an order number and are referenced in this document, or other Numonyx
literature may be obtained by visiting Numonyx's website at http://www.numonyx.com.
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Copyright © 2008, Numonyx, B.V., All Rights Reserved.

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