The controller is a Proven System Block (PSB) of the company's Customer Specific Standard Product (CSSP) platform library for handheld systems, says QuickLogic. The PSB can be implemented in the programmable fabric of QuickLogic's
PolarPro or EclipseII FPGAs, or it can augment the base SDIO controller built into the ArcticLink family of FPGA-based controllers. The
EclipseII family of low-power FPGAs is available in 8x8 mm packages suitable for handheld gadgets, and supported with Windows CE drivers for IP (intellectual property) functions such as IDE, PCI, and SDIO interfaces.
The new SDIO host controller IP handles four independent cards, but can be custom-configureed for as many card slots as are needed, the company said. The controller is compatible with SD, SDHC (secure digital high capacity), and MMC memory cards with 4-bit and 8-bit widths, says QuickLogic, supporting up to 32GB per card, for a potential total of 128GB of flash-based storage. Target applications are said to include storage for personal navigation devices, portable media players, and other handhelds.
EclipseII architecture
The controller supports simultaneous mixed card types and capacities, says the company, and can also accept SD-based Managed NAND devices such as Sandisk's iNAND, as well as embedded MMC (eMMC) devices like Samsung's MoviNAND. The controller is said to sense the type of controller on start-up for automatic configuration, and can be modified to designate a single card or attached memory device as a boot device. Driver support is offered for Windows CE, Windows Mobile, and Linux.
Stated Judd Heape, QuickLogic's senior director of systems engineering, "Handheld device designers are looking to expand their product's data storage beyond the 8 Gbyte limit of today's memory cards, but don't want to use hard disk drives."
AvailabilityQuickLogic's "enhanced SDIO host controller PSB" is available immediately with Windows in a four-slot configuration, says the company, which did not release pricing.
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