1 Introduction

Flash memory can be utilized two different ways in the user system:

• Memory is used as boot media; the application image is stored in the flash memory and used as bootloader source.
• Memory is used as a storage media during application.

When picking a flash memory IC, the device must comply with all boot requirements of the system-on-chip (SoC). If the memory is used as boot media, some guidelines must be followed to work efficiently as a storage device during application.

Figure 1-1 depicts the flash memory organization once the secondary bootloader (SBL) image and valid application image are present.

Figure 1-1 OSPI Flash Memory Map

Figure 1-2 shows the Boot Flow process where the flash usage is put into perspective, assuming a valid image is already present in flash.

Figure 1-2 General Boot Flow