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One-Chip Interface IC from STMicroelectronics will help Card-Slot Feature Phones keep Trim
In the future, many cellular handsets will feature a slot for a removable memory card. Designers can minimize the impact of this feature on handset dimensions by using the EMIF06-mSD02N16 SD Card interface IC just announced by STMicroelectronics.
Filtering and protection circuitry for an SD Card slot can occupy some 35 square millimeters of board space, but the 1.2 x 3.5mm EMIF06-mSD02N16 saves up to 88% of this area to help designers manage PCB dimensions. All necessary electromagnetic (EMI) filtering, electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection and pull-up resistors are provided on-chip. Support for either electrical or mechanical methods of detecting card insertion maximizes flexibility for handset designers. The EMIF06-mSD02N16 also has a very low mounted height of 0.5mm for use in ultra-slim handset designs, and is the smallest and most highly integrated SD card-interface IC available. The interface supports standard SD cards as well as the MiniSD and MicroSD formats, and will also save space in devices such as ultra-mobile PCs and digital cameras.Removable memory is an exciting feature for coming generations of handsets, enabling downloading, transferring and sharing of media as well as purchasing of content such as e-books. SD formats already dominate mobile phones and other consumer electronic platforms, and iSupply predicts MiniSD and MicroSD will make up 90% of all card slots in 2010. In addition, the SD Card Association has recently extended its roadmap by announcing Embedded SD, which will enable removable and embedded memory to share a common interface leading to simpler system design.