The SN54ACT3641 is a high-speed, low-power, CMOS clocked FIFO memory. It supports clock frequencies up to 50 MHz and has read access times as fast as 15 ns. The 1024 × 36 dual-port SRAM FIFO buffers data from port A to port B. The FIFO memory has retransmit capability, which allows previously read data to be accessed again. The FIFO has flags to indicate empty and full conditions and two programmable flags (almost full and almost empty) to indicate when a selected number of words is stored in memory. Communication between each port can take place with two 36-bit mailbox registers. Each mailbox register has a flag to signal when new mail has been stored. Two or more devices can be used in parallel to create wider datapaths. Expansion is also possible in word depth.

The SN54ACT3641 is a clocked FIFO, which means each port employs a synchronous interface. All data transfers through a port are gated to the low-to-high transition of a continuous (free-running) port clock by enable signals. The continuous clocks for each port are independent of one another and can be asynchronous or coincident. The enables for each port are arranged to provide a simple interface between microprocessors and/or buses with synchronous control.

The input-ready (IR) flag and almost-full (AF\) flag of the FIFO are two-stage synchronized to CLKA. The output-ready (OR) flag and almost-empty (AE\) flag of the FIFO are two-stage synchronized to CLKB. Offset values for the AF\ and AE\ flags of the FIFO can be programmed from port A or through a serial input.

The SN54ACT3641 is characterized for operation over the full military temperature range of - 55°C to 125°C.

For more information on this device family, see the following application reports:

• FIFO Patented Synchronous Retransmit: Programmable DSP-Interface Application for FIR Filtering (literature number SCAA009)
• FIFO Mailbox-Bypass Registers: Using Bypass Registers to Initialize DMA Control
  (literature number SCAA007)
• Metastability Performance of Clocked FIFOs (literature number SCZA004)