
MultiMediaCard Flash
Preliminary MultiMediaCard Product Manual;
1998 SANDISK CORPORATION
Page 8 of 79
1.4 MultiMediaCard Standard
MultiMediaCards are fully compatible with the MultiMediaCard standard specification listed
below:
The MultiMediaCard System Specification Version 1.4
This specification may be obtained from:
MultiMediaCard Association
19672 Stevens Creek Blvd.
Suite 404
Cupertino, CA 95014-2465
1.5 Functional Description
MultiMediaCard-F00XX Cards contain a high level, intelligent subsystem as shown in the
block diagram, Figure 1-1. This intelligent (microprocessor) subsystem provides many
capabilities not found in other types of memory cards. These capabilities include:
1. Host independence from details of erasing and programming flash memory.
2. Sophisticated system for managing defects (analogous to systems found in
magnetic disk drives).
3. Sophisticated system for error recovery including a powerful error correction code
(ECC).
4. Power management for low power operation.
1.5.1 Flash Technology Independence
The 512 byte sector size of the MultiMediaCard is the same as that in an IDE magnetic
disk drive. To write or read a sector (or multiple sectors), the host computer software
simply issues a Read or Write command to the MultiMediaCard. This command contains
the address and the number of sectors to write/read. The host software then waits for the
command to complete. The host software does not get involved in the details of how the
flash memory is erased, programmed or read. This is extremely important as flash devices
are expected to get more and more complex in the future. Because the MultiMediaCard
uses an intelligent on-board controller, the host system software will not require changing
as new flash memory evolves. In other words, systems that support the MultiMediaCard
today will be able to access future MultiMediaCards built with new flash technology without
having to update or change host software.
1.5.2 Defect and Error Management
MultiMediaCards contain a sophisticated defect and error management system. This
system is analogous to the systems found in magnetic disk drives and in many cases
offers enhancements. For instance, disk drives do not typically perform a read after write
to confirm the data is written correctly because of the performance penalty that would be