A group of leading semiconductor companies, led by Spansion and ARM, today launched the Platform Independent Storage Module (Pismo) advisory council, an industry organization focused on streamlining system-level memory validation and test.

The group, which also currently includes Toshiba , NanoAmp Solutions, Smedia and Spreadtrum, said it would work to define a single, board-level interface standard that allows designers to use a variety of memory devices on development platforms from multiple vendors in a plug-and-play fashion.

Growth in the wireless and embedded markets has given rise to hundreds of new processors, chip sets and memory types that must be tested for compatibility, and without a standard interface, system designers must develop and use a variety of device-specific development boards to ensure compatibility. The Pismo interface standard is meant to define mechanical and electrical specifications for small form-factor memory modules.

A resulting Pismo standard is aimed at allowing rapid deployment of increasingly powerful and affordable mobile telecommunications, computing and consumer products, the group said.

“We are committed to working together as an industry to reduce the complex test and validation issues that have arisen as the result of the endless combinations of memory and logic chipsets,” said Fasil Bekele, chairman of the Pismo advisory council, in a statement.

“The new PISMO interface gives semiconductor providers an opportunity to differentiate their product lines, while simplifying and reducing the cost of design for their customers,” he added.

Pismo-compliant modules would be stackable and supported by tools that provide easy access to signals for performing in-depth analysis, making them ideal for validating and prototyping combinations of memory devices with a variety of host controllers, the group explained.

“Memory suppliers have a responsibility to help solve the tough development challenges that have arisen due to increased differentiation in the memory and logic markets,” said Stephen Lapinski, VP of systems engineering and strategic alliances for Spansion, in a statement. “That’s why we are spearheading this effort to lead the industry in putting Pismo-compliant memory modules into the hands of customers.

“We are very encouraged by this strong showing of support from industry leaders, and are confident that the council’s efforts will not only streamline development, but lead to more feature-rich systems at affordable price points,” Lapinski concluded.

Mark Snook, product manager for RealView hardware platforms at ARM said, “The growing momentum and support for PISMO indicates a desperate need to streamline development for system designers.”

Therefore, ARM is committed to supporting Pismo on its development platforms, and believes the standard will speed system deployment and lead to more rapid innovation in the mobile and embedded markets, Snook added.

Each member company is to provide input and vote on enhancements and changes to the Pismo standard. They will also have early access to Pismo specifications and design collateral. Membership is open to any company involved in semiconductor or systems development.

The first version of the specification is available, which defines a standard interface for devices on the Static RAM (SRAM) bus, with an enhanced version under development that extends support for devices on other memory buses such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM); DDR Flash and RAM; NAND and SPI.

Further, a number of Pismo-based products are shipping. ARM is offering Pismo-based development platforms; Spansion has a family of Pismo modules, and a logic analyzer module to allow users to perform in-depth system analysis.