
CompactFlash Memory Card Product Manual
SanDisk CompactFlash Memory Card Product Manual 1999 SANDISK CORPORATION
7
1.0 Introduction to the CompactFlash Memory Card
The SanDisk CompactFlash
Memory Card
(CF) products provide high capacity solid state
flash memory that electrically complies with t h e
Personal Computer Memory Card International
Association ATA (PC Card ATA) standard. (In
Japan, the applicable standards group is JEIDA.)
The CompactFlash Memory Card Series also
supports a True IDE Mode that is electrically
compatible
with
an
IDE
disk
drive.
CompactFlash Memory Cards provide up to 160
million bytes (Megabytes, MBytes or MB) of
formatted storage capacity in the CF Type II form
factor and 96 megabytes in the original CF form
factor. The original CF form factor card can be
used in any system that has a CF slot, and with a
Type II PCMCIA adapter can be used in any
system that has a PCMCIA Type II or Type III
socket. The newer CF Type II card fits into a CF
Type II slot.
SanDisk has expanded the available capacity of
the CompactFlash Storage Card by offering a new
CF Type II form factor. Just slightly thicker than
the original CF form factor, the CF Type II form
factor is 5 mm thick instead of 3.3 mm thick.
The CompactFlash Memory Card Series uses
SanDisk
Flash
memory
chips
which
were
designed by SanDisk specifically for use in mass
storage applications. In addition to the mass
storage
specific
Flash
memory
chips,
t h e
CompactFlash Memory Cards include an on-card
intelligent controller that provides a high level
interface to the host computer. This interface
allows a host computer to issue commands to t h e
memory card to read or write blocks of memory. A
block of memory consists of 512 bytes of data and is
protected by a powerful Error Correcting Code
(ECC).
The
CompactFlash
Memory
Card
on-card
intelligent controller manages interface protocols,
data storage and retrieval as well as ECC, defect
handling and diagnostics, power management and
clock control. Once the CompactFlash Memory
Card has been configured by the host, it appears
to the host as a standard ATA (IDE) disk drive.
Additional ATA commands have been provided to
enhance system performance.
The host system can support as many cards as
there are CompactFlash, CompactFlash Type I I
and PCMCIA Type II or III card slots. The original
form factor CompactFlash Memory Cards require
a PCMCIA Type II Adapter to be used in a
PCMCIA Type II or Type III socket.
SanDisk also offers an industrial version of t h e
CompactFlash Memory Card Series, which has a
broader operating and non-operating temperature
range than the standard product. Please see
Section 2 for detailed specifications.
SanDisk
Single
Chip
Controller
Host
Interface
Data
In/O ut
Control
SanDisk
Flash
Modules
SanDisk CompactFlash
Figure 1-1 CompactFlash Memory Card Block Diagram