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November 20, 1997

Hitachi Releases the Industry's Highest Density 45-Mbyte CompactFlash^TM Small Flash Card and 150-Mbyte PC-ATA Card

- Use of single-chip controller provides her density plus lower power consumption -

Hitachi, Ltd. today announced the release of the HB 286045C3 CompactFlash^TM(CF)^*1 small flash card, featuring the industry's highest CF density of 45- Mbytes, and three PC ATA cards^*2 : the 150 Mbyte HB 286150A3, featuring high density for a Type II (5mm) card, the 90-Mbyte HB286090A3, and the 8-Mbyte HB286008A3. The use of a single-chip controller on these products has enabled current dissipation during operation to be cut by 20% compared with previous products. Sample shipments of all four CF products will begin in December, 1997 and that of the eight PC ATA in January, 1998 in Japan.

While flash cards have been a focus of attention for some time as the preferred memory medium for multimedia devices, they have really come into their own with the advent this year of a number of new products, such as digital cameras and handheld PCs, that use flash cards, and CF cards in particular, as a storage medium. The major mover among these products is the digital camera. Sales of such CF- based cameras have reached high levels, and the demand for picture definition on a par with conventional film cameras will lead to the release of new models with a large number of CCD^*3 pixels supporting high-definition SVGA^*4 and even XGA ^*5 standards and more (800,000 to 1.4 million pixels).

Greater numbers of pixels mean a larger amount of information to be handled, and this translates into the need for greater CF storage capability. With a camera supporting one-million-pixel definition, the card capacity needed for about 100 images is 15 Mbytes in standard mode and around 45 Mbytes in high-definition mode. There is thus a demand for small, high-capacity flash cards. The current trend is toward replacing hard disks with flash cards in the industrial and other system area. This has resulted in a growing demand for PC-ATA cards with capacities exceeding 100 Mbytes.

Following on up to the 30-Mbyte CF and 75-Mbyte PC-ATA cards currently in mass production, Hitachi has now developed the HB286045C3 45-Mbytes CF, and three PC-ATA cards: the 150-Mbyte HB286150A3 , the 90-Mbyte HB286090A3, and the 8-Mbyte HB286008A3. These products incorporate Hitachi's 64-Mbit AND-type flash memories, and use a Hitachi cell-based IC with built-in microcomputer (micro-CBIC: micro cell based IC) to provide a controller, which previously required two chips, on a single chip.

This use of Hitachi's stacked TCP(Tape Carrier Package) technology have made it possible to incorporate a total of six 64-Mbit flash memories in a CF to provide the industry's highest CF density of 45 Mbytes, and realize the 150-Mbyte PC-ATA card, which incorporates a total of twenty 64-Mbit flash memories. In addition, the use of a single-chip controller has enabled current dissipation to be cut by 20% during operation compared with previous products, for longer battery life-the prime concern in portable products.

This time, Hitachi developed the four CF and eight PC-ATA cards as single-chip controller versions, extending the flash card product lineup for users. Higher-density versions using 256-Mbit flash memory will be developed in the future.

Note

1. CompactFlash: CompactFlash is a trademark of SanDisk Corporation and is licensed royalty-free to the CFA (CompactFlash Association) which in turn will license it royalty-free to CFA members. Hitachi is a member of the CFA.
2. PC-ATA: PC-ATA card specification. The ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) specification within the card specifications determined by the PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association).
3. CCD: Charge coupled device
4. SVGA (Super Video Graphic Array): A display definition standard, with a display comprising 800 x 600 dots.
5. XGA (Extended Graphic Array): XGA is a registered trademark of IBM Corporation, with a display comprising 1024 x 764 dots.

Applications

• Digital cameras
• Portable information devices, including PDAs and handheld PCs
• Solid-state recorders, etc.

Prices in Japan

Product Code	Capacity	Sample Price(Yen)
HB286045C3	45 Mbytes CompactFlash	75,000
HB286030C3	30 Mbytes CompactFlash	56,000
HB286015C3	15 Mbytes CompactFlash	28,000
HB286008C3	8 Mbytes CompactFlash	17,000
HB286150A3	150 Mbytes PC-ATA card	180,000
HB286090A3	90 Mbytes PC-ATA card	133,000
HB286075A3	75 Mbytes PC-ATA card	121,000
HB286060A3	60 Mbytes PC-ATA card	100,000
HB286045A3	45 Mbytes PC-ATA card	76,000
HB286030A3	30 Mbytes PC-ATA card	57,000
HB286015A3	15 Mbytes PC-ATA card	29,000
HB286008A3	8 Mbytes PC-ATA card	18,000

Specifications

Item		CompactFlash	PC-ATA card
Capacity		45 M/30M/15M/8M-bytes	150M/90M/75M/60M/45M/30M/15M/8M-bytes
Operating voltage		3.3V and 5V
Transfer rate	Read	8 Mbytes/sec
	Write	400 kbytes/sec (* 8Mbytes card: 250 kbytes/sec)
Current dissipation	Read/Write	30 mA (at 3.3 V)
	Sleep	0.3 mA (at 3.3 V)
Configuration		64 Mbit AND-type flash memory + controller (H8/300H core micro-CBIC single-chip configuration)
Package		CompactFlashTM specification 42.8 x 36.4x 3.3 mm 50 pins	PC card ATA specification 54.0 x 85.6 x 5.0 mm 68 pins
Interface specifications		PC Card ATA True IDE* Mode

*True - IDE : True Integrated Device Electronics

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