ARLINGTON, Va., USA – OCTOBER 1, 2013 – JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, the global leader in standards development for the microelectronics industry, today announced the publication of JESD84-B50: Embedded MultiMediaCard (e.MMC), Electrical Standard (5.0). e.MMC v5.0 defines several new functionalities and enhancements for embedded mass-storage flash memory widely used in smartphones and other mobile devices. e.MMC v5.0 matches challenging performance targets required by the next generation of mobile systems by introducing an HS400 mode that offers additional improvement in terms of interface speed (up to 400 MB/s vs 200 MB/s in the prior version). JESD84-B50 is available for free download from the JEDEC website: http://www.jedec.org/standards-documents/results/jesd84-b50.
In response to requests from Industry users, the new revision of the standard includes a Field Firmware update procedure which allows loading and installing a new version or a patch of the e.MMC device controller firmware when the device itself is operational in the final system. In addition, Production State Awareness may be used during the production phase, and defines how to inform the device about specific phases such as content pre-loading, soldering, and integration in the final system.
e.MMC v5.0 also proposes some enhancements designed with the end user in mind, including register fields that can be utilized to collect device lifetime statistics via the Device Health Report feature. A safer power mode transition to Sleep state via software is possible through Sleep Notification.
"As mobile devices continue to require support for dramatic performance and reliability enhancements, JEDEC is pleased to help address the storage demands of the market with e.MMC: a low-cost, high-performance solution," said Mian Quddus, Chairman, JEDEC Board of Directors.
Industry Support
"e.MMC’s evolution to generation 5.0 addresses the market need for a higher-performance, backward-compatible storage solution," said Marco Dallabora, Micron’s senior director of mobile technology. "Standardization synergies have been efficiently focused on speed enhancement features, as well as manufacturability and reliability improvements."
"This critical evolution in the e.MMC standard will go a long way in helping to expand the market for high-end mobile devices with provisioning for cost-efficient production advancements, and functionality that allows users to enjoy exceptionally fast, high definition content with enhanced usability," said Jim Elliott, vice president, memory marketing, Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.
"Toshiba expects that e.MMC Ver.5.0 with high speed I/F(HS400) will expand the market where e.MMC I/F is used, such as H/E tablet PCs. Toshiba keeps contributing to the JEDEC mobile storage standardization activity, such as e.MMC and UFS I/F and strongly supports this area," said Shigeo Ohshima, Technology Executive of Toshiba Corporation Semiconductor & Storage Products Company.
About e.MMC
Designed for a wide range of applications in consumer electronics, mobile phones, handheld computers, navigational systems and other industrial uses, e.MMC is an embedded non-volatile memory system, comprised of both flash memory and a flash memory controller, which simplifies the application interface design and frees the host processor from low-level flash memory management. This benefits product developers by simplifying the non-volatile memory interface design and qualification process – resulting in a reduction in time-to-market as well as facilitating support for future flash device offerings. Small BGA package sizes and low power consumption make e.MMC a viable, low-cost memory solution for mobile and other space-constrained products.
About JEDEC
JEDEC is the leading developer of standards for the solid-state industry. Over 4,000 participants, appointed by nearly 300 companies, work together in 50 JEDEC committees to meet the needs of every segment of the industry, manufacturers and consumers alike. The publications and standards that they generate are accepted throughout the world. All JEDEC standards are available online at
www.jedec.org, at no charge.
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