EEPROMbased

EEPROMbased describes electronic systems that store non-volatile data in Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM). The term covers both microcontrollers with integrated EEPROM and external EEPROM devices connected by I2C or SPI buses. Common uses include configuration settings, calibration data, device identifiers, security keys, and small logs that must persist after power-down.

Internal EEPROM provides byte-addressable storage with direct read/write access, while external EEPROMs extend capacity without repurposing flash. EEPROM differs from flash in that it allows writing single bytes (often with a page write constraint) and typically has slower write times but longer data retention.

Endurance varies by type, commonly from tens of thousands to millions of write cycles, with retention typically rated for many years at room temperature. Because of limited longevity and slower writes, designs often minimize EEPROM usage by caching in RAM, using wear-leveling on larger external memories, or storing only rarely changed values.

Applications favor EEPROM-based storage for small, persistent data that must be writable during operation without block erases. In contrast, larger or performance-critical data often lives in flash or other non-volatile memories. Some modern systems prefer alternatives such as FRAM or MRAM for higher endurance, but EEPROM remains common for simple persistence tasks.

See also: EEPROM, I2C, SPI, flash memory, FRAM.