Mitsubishi Electric Develops 105MB Flash ATA PC Card

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (President: Takashi Kitaoka) announced today that the company has developed a new 105MB flash ATA PC card, the largest capacity Type-1 PC card (3.3 mm thick) currently available on the market. This PC card is based on the new 64M-bit, AND-type flash memory chip designed jointly by Mitsubishi Electric and Hitachi Corporation specifically for large-capacity storage devices. Mitsubishi Electric has also developed a 22.5MB CompactFlash^TM memory card equipped with the same flash memory chip. The company will begin shipment of samples of the new products on September 22, 1997.

"These two new products clearly highlight the small size, low power, and high capacity advantages of Mitsubishi Electric's approach of placing all the controllers on a single chip," said Dr. Koichi Nagasawa, director and deputy general manager of Mitsubishi Electric's Semiconductor Group. Mitsubishi Electric is focused on the promising market for notebook computers, digital still cameras, and other portable electronic devices which require large memory capacities in very small spaces," continued Dr. Nagasawa. "These two new additions to our PC card line demonstrate our firm commitment to this market and also place us in a strong position vis-a-vis our competitors."

Product Outline

Both new industry-standard products are PC cards developed in full compliance with PC Card ATA and the CompactFlash^TM Specifications Rev. 1.1 published by the CompactFlash^TM Association (CFA), a standardization organization for CompactFlash^TM memory cards. By installing standard card device drivers which come with notebook computers equipped with PC card slots, users can read and write data freely using PC flash memory cards. Moreover, the new PC cards support the IDE interface and can be directly connected to fixed hard disk drives in personal computers. They can operate at as low as 3.3V, and are ideal for digital still cameras and small portable data terminals whose markets will continue to grow. Monthly production is expected to reach 10,000 units at year-end.

Product Features

1. Thin profile and largest capacity in industry.

Mitsubishi Electric has adopted a new single chip controller circuit, instead of a conventional three-chip configuration. The new 105MB flash ATA PC card and the 22.5MB CompactFlash^TM card come equipped with the 64M-bit AND-type flash memory chip optimized for large-capacity storage devices and a proprietary single-chip controller LSI specially designed for the new products.

2. 5V/3.3V dual voltage operation

3. Low power consumption

30mA/write mode and 25mA/read mode (at 5V operation)

4. High reliability with built-in error correction

An error correction circuit is built into the new single-chip controller LSI for higher reliability during data transfer.

5. High-level interface compatibility

CompactFlash^TM cards may be used as ordinary ATA PC cards using adapters available from commercial venders. This convenient feature makes it easy to download data stored in CompactFlash^TMcards to notebook computers and other general-purpose peripherals equipped with PC card slots for further data processing and editing.

Product Background

Sample Prices and Storage Capacity

Model	Storage Capacity	Unit Price	Scheduled Sample Shipment Date
MF022M5-03AAXX	22.5MB	\ 55,000	October 20, 1997
MF0015M-03AAXX	15MB	\40,000	September 22, 1997
MF007M5-03AAXX	7.5MB	\ 25,000	September 22, 1997

Key Product Specifications

1. External Size

Flash ATA PC card: 54.0 (W) X 85.6 (L) X 3.3 (T) (mm)

CompactFlash^TM card: 42.8 (W) X 36.4 (L) X 3.3 (T) (mm)

2. Power Requirement: 5V +/-10% or 3.3V +/-5% (single power source operation)

3. Read/Write Rate: 300KB/sec (typical)

4. Host Transfer Rate: 8MB/sec