SPIs Like Us.
The PSoC 4 (CY8C41xx and CY8C42xx) comes with a maximum of 4k SRAM.
This is not always enough space for larger dynamic video frame buffers so to address this I have connected a SPI SRAM to give me this breathing space.
Cypress have planned to release two new PSoC 4 families with with more SRAM next year (CY8C44xx and CY8C46xx).
Here is a link to the Roadmap.
http://www.cypress.com/?docID=46178
Pictured above are the first test results of sequential access testing. It proved that my SPI sequential write was successful.
Below are pictures of my initial single byte write and read tests.
I'm not stranger to using SPI SRAMs and FRAMs (FerroElectric RAM) and have used them for many other designs.
They are a versatile device to address particular challenges.
FRAMS have the advantage of being non-volatile but at a price - Their cost.
For a dynamic video frame buffer I don't have a requirement for non-volatility so SRAMs are satisfactory.
The population of the video frame buffer is done programmatically by the PSoC 4 ARM processor.
Beware that different SPI RAM parts have different protocol schemes.
Ensure that you understand their protocols to get them working.
The above are for the MicroChip 23k256 (256kbit) SRAM.



Top Comments