Who is Simtek?
Simtek was a semiconductor company focused on nonvolatile memory technology, which combines the speed of static random access memory with data retention during power loss.
Key Focus Areas
- Nonvolatile static memory semiconductor design
- Embedded memory for industrial and automotive control systems
- Data retention for logging, metering, and configuration storage
- Serial and parallel memory interfaces for embedded platforms
- Semiconductor design with third-party fabrication partners
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More About Simtek
Simtek operated in the semiconductor sector, with its design work centered on memory components for embedded electronics. Designers in these environments require fast writes and reliable storage without depending on battery-backed alternatives.
In enterprise and industrial settings, nonvolatile memory typically sits between volatile working memory and bulk storage. It supports applications such as event logging, configuration retention, metering, and state preservation in programmable logic controllers, network equipment, and instrumentation. Integration generally follows standard memory interface conventions, including parallel and serial bus architectures, so components can be designed into existing board layouts.
Technically, this approach pairs a conventional SRAM cell with a nonvolatile element, allowing data to transfer to and from the nonvolatile store under control logic. The architecture is commonly compared with battery-backed SRAM, EEPROM, and flash memory. Battery-backed SRAM offers similar speed but introduces battery maintenance and failure risk. EEPROM and flash provide nonvolatility with slower write performance and different endurance characteristics relative to SRAM-based designs.
The business significance of this work lies in reliability and lifecycle considerations for long-deployed systems. Industrial and automotive customers require components with extended operating temperature ranges and stable supply, and the category has been relevant to designers seeking to remove batteries from products. Simtek was acquired by Cypress Semiconductor in 2005, and its memory portfolio subsequently became part of Cypress offerings. Infineon Technologies later acquired Cypress in 2020.
In directory classification, Simtek is positioned as a privately held semiconductor company within the semiconductors and semiconductor equipment category of information technology. Its solution area is nonvolatile memory for embedded systems, and it is not presented here as an independent active vendor. Readers evaluating memory technology for current designs should consult the present owner's product documentation.
Our description of Simtek. Updated October 2026.
