- Industry's first SD 3.0 supported voltage level converter ∙∙∙ Enhanced storage capacity ∙ Multimedia access

February 14, 2012, Seoul — STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM), a global semiconductor company in various electronic device applications and a leader in standard ICs, has launched the industry's first Voltage-Level Translator supporting the latest SD (Secure Digital) 3.0 standard. Offering enhanced storage capacity, faster SD 3.0 access speeds, low static power consumption, and a small package, ST's new Voltage-Level Translator is the ideal device for combining application processors or digital basebands with SD memory cards in mobile phones, portable media players, tablets, digital cameras, or personal navigation devices.

SD 3.0 provides up to 2 terabytes of storage space and boosts SD interface read/write speeds to 50 megabytes per second at a double data transfer rate of 50 MHz. ST's new voltage level converter is the industry's first device to support the SD 3.0 standard, enabling users to utilize increased storage space and access multimedia content such as music, videos, and photos more quickly. It also facilitates the development of portable applications for system designers.

The ST6G324 enables high-speed operation while simultaneously reducing power consumption. It also ensures data integrity through stable propagation delay and electromagnetic interference filters, as well as signal conditioning. ST's latest voltage level converter is suitable for portable devices that connect directly to external memory cards, and a 15kV air-gap ESD protection device is built into the card side.

ST’s voltage level converter for SD, MiniSD, and MicroSD memory cards offers selectable voltages between 1.8V and 2.9V and is a 6-bit bidirectional CMOS level converter manufactured in a space-saving BGA25 package. It also reduces board area by 50% compared to the existing ST6G3238. Because it is backward pin-to-pin compatible with almost all existing SD 2.0 products, customers can easily perform hot swaps and reduce application development investment costs. The ST6G3244 is currently available for bulk purchase and is priced at $0.84 per unit for orders of 1,000.