1.1 NAND Flash Features
Understanding the characteristics of NAND Flash technologies compared with NOR technologies is important when evaluating their suitability for boot operations on Microchip 32-bit microprocessors such as the SAM9X60 and SAM9X7 Series MPUs. While this technical brief focuses on NAND Flash boot constraints, comparing it with NOR Flash highlights the performance and cost differences that influence bootloader design, memory interfacing and overall system reliability.
The following table compares NAND Flash and NOR Flash features in terms of access performance, cost, endurance and targeted applications.
| Feature | NAND Flash | NOR Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Read speed | Medium | High |
| Write speed | High | Low |
| Cost per bit | Low | High |
| Endurance | Higher | Lower |
| Application | Mass storage, boot, logging | Code execution, small data storage |