What are the important considerations for memory requirements?

Memory requirement considerations play an important role in the system design. It is vital for an efficient and cost-effective design, to be able to estimate how much memory is required.

For wireless sensing network applications, a distinction is made between different memory types:

• Flash: Non-volatile memory for program code in the microcontroller
• RAM: Volatile memory for code and data in microcontroller
• EEPROM/MRAM/FRAM/Flash/other: Non-volatile memory for measured values of the application, or similar

Flash and RAM are typically always required to map the basic functionality. Too small a memory footprint of such memory elements limits usage of the device or restricts its function, e.g. network size. Too much memory makes the product more expensive and, therefore, less competitive. Optimal memory usage is key.