eMMC is an embedded storage solution with an MMC interface, flash memory and controller, all in a small BGA package. It is based upon the industry-standard MMC System Specification v4.3 and JEDEC BGA packaging standards.
With interface speeds of up to 52 MB per second, eMMC provides fast scalable performance. It supports x1, x4 or x8 bus width and allows for an interface voltage of either 1.8v or 3.3v.
eMMC provides a flexible, industry-standard architecture that simplifies mass storage designs for portable consumer electronics products. With eMMC, a host system can now gain access to all major classes of mass-storage memory subsystems, including embedded memory (eMMC), memory cards or even hard disk drives (via ATA-on-MMC specification) with one common MMC Interface Protocol Bus.
The standardized eMMC protocol interface offers designers high performance and makes technology complexity -- such as NAND Flash functional differences among suppliers -- invisible to the host. This differs from the conventional architecture, where a host system must contend with generational process geometry shrinks and technical complexities such as Multi-Level Cell (MLC) technology while supporting the company-specific functions of individual flash memory suppliers to achieve the necessary performance.
The benefits of eMMC to host manufacturers are a simpler product design and qualification process and shorter time to market overall.
Features & Benefits
easy to use - Simple read/write memory using industry-standard MMC 4.3 interface
- No need to develop firmware for MMC controller
- Faster product development and time to market
- Common solution for embedded and external flash memory
- Low-cost embedded solution with MLC NAND
- Performance increase costs less
- 4 stacked raw NAND - must increase performance of all NAND (4 times overhead)
- 4 stacked eMMC - increase performance of just one MMC controller - Can be used with low-cost legacy chipsets
- Solutions for legacy chipset supporting only SLC interface with MMC interface - JEDEC standardization in process
- The trend of NAND standardization (e.g., ONFI) does not mean raw NAND will not change
- Variation of NAND flash feature NAND block sizes, page sizes, planes, new features, MLC vs. SLC, wear leveling and ECC requirements.
