FLASH question...

[Dala Dahlgren]

As far as I can see FLASH-memory chips are usually not available in any
larger sizes than 64mBits. However, devices like "IDE FLASH-disks" or
"CompactFLASH cards" are available with gigabytes of storage.
How is this done?
For example, if you should make a 2Gigabyte-device from 64Mbits FLASH ICs
you would need 250 of theses chips.
This can't be the way they do it?

When the largest chips available seems to be 64MBits, it seems "impossible"
to get 2GBytes of FLASH without making a HUGE PCB. Not to mention the cost
of 250 FLASH-chips...
And if I needed some megabytes of storage on a circuit-board, how would I do
this in the best way?
If it is possible to get 2GB into a small compactFLASH it should be no
problem to get 100MBytes of FLASH soldered onto a PCB.

Hope my "question" is clear and that somebody can give me an explanation...


Thanks in advance,
Dala.

 

[Tim Wescott]

Dala Dahlgren wrote:

As far as I can see FLASH-memory chips are usually not available in any
larger sizes than 64mBits. However, devices like "IDE FLASH-disks" or
"CompactFLASH cards" are available with gigabytes of storage.
How is this done?
For example, if you should make a 2Gigabyte-device from 64Mbits FLASH ICs
you would need 250 of theses chips.
This can't be the way they do it?

When the largest chips available seems to be 64MBits, it seems "impossible"
to get 2GBytes of FLASH without making a HUGE PCB. Not to mention the cost
of 250 FLASH-chips...
And if I needed some megabytes of storage on a circuit-board, how would I do
this in the best way?
If it is possible to get 2GB into a small compactFLASH it should be no
problem to get 100MBytes of FLASH soldered onto a PCB.

Hope my "question" is clear and that somebody can give me an explanation...


Thanks in advance,
Dala.



Do a web search on NAND flash. It's denser, slower, and harder to use

than "ordinary" (NOR) flash.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

 

[Ian Stirling]

Dala Dahlgren <dala@netscape.net> wrote:

As far as I can see FLASH-memory chips are usually not available in any
larger sizes than 64mBits. However, devices like "IDE FLASH-disks" or
"CompactFLASH cards" are available with gigabytes of storage.
How is this done?
For example, if you should make a 2Gigabyte-device from 64Mbits FLASH ICs
you would need 250 of theses chips.
This can't be the way they do it?

When the largest chips available seems to be 64MBits, it seems "impossible"
to get 2GBytes of FLASH without making a HUGE PCB. Not to mention the cost
of 250 FLASH-chips...
And if I needed some megabytes of storage on a circuit-board, how would I do
this in the best way?

CF socket.
Use it as an IDE drive.
Electronics to drive it isn't challenging if you've got a micro.