Biwin of mainland China has the SD-01 SDHC series that supports up to 4GB capacity and 6MBps write speed. The model has a mechanical write-protect switch.

The storage device line has hit the double-digit gigabyte mark. Cards with increased data rates are also available.

The technology boom that has seen increased demand for personal and portable electronic devices, particularly digital still cameras and mobile phones, continues to be the driving force of the flash memory card industry. Huge growth in the ultraportable department has especially caught makers’ interest to ramp up development of mini flash memory cards.

The flash memory card line’s global market value is expected to increase from $8 billion in 2003 to $27 billion this year, according to Semico Research. Interviewed makers from mainland China and Taiwan back the forecast, predicting significant growth for 2008. Unit prices are expected to decrease amid a prolonged downturn in memory chip costs and as main industry players beef up production.

Manufacturers from both regions are largely focused on increasing storage capacity and enhancing data transfer rates. Suppliers based in mainland China are also looking into lowering power consumption.

SD cards and their variants dominate total production. The card family holds an estimated 60 percent of the flash memory card market. CompactFlash (CF) cards account for 30 percent of market share, while MMCs hold the remaining 10 percent.

	The PSd combo model from PDC of Taiwan transfers data to and from portable media devices and PCs. It doubles as a USB card reader and portable storage device.

Flash memory cards that can store up to 16GB of data and transfer data by as much as 133 times the standard rate are available in the region.

Production is focused on SD cards, MMCs and CF and their variants. However, high-density models—miniSD, microSD and TransFlash (TF), RS-MMC and DVRS-MMC—are fast becoming top storage media.

Rfox Digital Technology Co. Ltd has model RMMC, a standard MMC that features 128MB to 512MB storage capacity, 2.7V to 3.6V working voltage and more than 100,000 program/erase cycles. The RMMC fully complies with MMCA specifications.

DTT Technology (China) Co. Ltd’s DTT-SD SD card series has data capacities from 32MB to 8GB. The storage devices have 22.5MBps read and 15MBps write speeds. They have a minimum 10,000 insertion/removal cycles and more than 1 million hours of mean time between failures (MTBF).

The DTT-SD supports SD specification 1.1 and ECC, and is embedded with the Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM) digital rights management scheme. It also has an in-system programming function that allows loading of firmware, power-down commands and sleep modes.

DTT’s MMC family has storage space of up to 4GB. The company’s RS-MMC and dual-voltage DVRS-MMC series have 32MB to 4GB capacity, and 16MBps read and 7MBps write speeds. DTT’s MMCmicro, at just 12x14x1.1mm, has 32MB to 1GB capacity, 1.8V to 3.3V working voltage, and 16MBps read and 7MBps write speeds.

The supplier also has a high-speed CF, the DTT-CFE, which supports 15MBps read and 8.5MBps write speeds.

Biwin Technology Ltd has the CF01 series of CF cards available in storage capacities of 32MB to 16GB. The CF01 has a 16.6MBps host data transfer rate, ECC, 3.5V/5.0 input voltage and modifiable firmware. The series fully complies with CF Release 2.1 and 1.02 specifications.

The company has also launched model SD-01, a series of SDHC products that support up to 4GB capacity, 9MBps read speed and 6MBps Class 6 write speed. The SD-01 has a mechanical write-protect switch.

In the compact category, Biwin’s miniSD, with storage capacities from 32MB to 2GB, complies with SD and miniSD card 1.01 and 1.02 specifications, respectively. The storage device is compatible with MMCs.

The supplier also boasts an MMCplus offering that can store 128MB to 8GB of data at 120X read and 80X write rates. The high-capacity storage medium can handle 100,000 program/erase cycles. It conforms to MMCA specifications and has support for MMC 4x and 3x interfaces. The product can also be used on SD card reader devices.

Shenzhen Tat Electronics Co. Ltd provides TransFlash cards. The microSD, approximately a quarter the size of an SD card, is available in storage capacities of 128MB to 2GB. The product, widely used in mobile phones, fully complies with SD specification standards. It has respective read and write speeds of 8.8MBps and 6.5MBps, and supports 2.7V to 3.6V working voltage. Shenzhen Tat also has an adapter that allows the TransFlash card to fit the standard SD card slot.

	Ritek of Taiwan has an SDHC model available in 4GB and 8GB storage capacities. The memory device conforms to SD 2.0 specification, has Class 2 speed rating at 2MBps and is embedded with CPRM.

Two major R&D directions for Taiwan makers are to enhance data transfer speeds to 150 times the current rate and enlarge storage capacity to 8GB.

As in mainland China, the compact-size memory card market is riding a wave in Taiwan, thanks to a notable rise in demand for handheld devices such as digital cameras, GPS navigators, mobile phones and PDAs. There is an estimated 20 to 50 percent growth in microSD card shipment volumes, leading to a market value drop in miniSD cards, according to Power Digital Card Co. Ltd (PDC).

SD cards still dominate the market. CF cards are shipped to professional markets, mostly for high-end cameras. Meanwhile, A-Data Technologies Co. Ltd said the MMC market is declining and being replaced by SD cards. Available memory sizes for SD cards in Taiwan range from 128MB to 4GB. Those for high-speed SDHC cards range from 8GB to 16GB, and those for MMCs are from 128MB to 4GB.

Ritek Corp. plans to release new products with capacities of up to 16GB but believes 2GB and 4GB memory cards will remain mainstream a while longer. It indicated that the high cost attached to higher storage capacities would remain a key hurdle for buyers, making products above 4GB less appealing.

The company has an SDHC model available in 4GB and 8GB storage capacities. The memory device is ideal for storing MP3 music files as well as high-definition photos and videos. It conforms to SD 2.0 specification and has Class 2 speed rating at 2MBps. The 32x24x2.1mm SDHC model from Ritek is embedded with CPRM.

	A-Data of Taiwan has the 24x32x2.1mm Info SDHB 4GB, an SD card with a four-digit indicator to show the remaining available space on the storage device.

In recent years, makers have gone into the manufacture of combination prototypes. Today, the combo models are enjoying marked-up sales in Taiwan.

Shenzhen Tat has a combo model with a standard SD/MMC interface on one side and a USB 2.0 interface on the other. The product has plug-and-play functionality, connecting directly to a computer’s USB port. It is available in various memory capacities.

A-Data has released a model that combines the microSD, SD 1.1 and USB 2.0 interfaces. The microSD Trio multifunction flash memory card works as a USB card reader and pen drive. The company has also introduced its SD Duo combo card series with the latest SDHC Class 6 and USB 2.0 interfaces.

Also from Taiwan is PDC’s Mbridge with MMC, SD card and Memory Stick (MS) interfaces. With adapters, the MBridge can be used to read SD, miniSD and MS Duo card standards. Another product from the company, the PSd, offers convenience in transferring data to and from digital still cameras, portable devices and PCs. The model can work as a USB card reader and as a portable storage device.

	Shenzhen Tat microSD cards from mainland China are available in storage capacities of 128MB to 2GB. These have respective read and write speeds of 8.8MBps and 6.5MBps, and support 2.7V to 3.6V working voltage.

Despite promising industry growth, memory solutions providers are challenged by the proliferation of vendors of fake SD, MMC, CF and MS cards. Such “underground” makers use substandard flash memory chips and do not subject their products to QC processes.

In mainland China, makers are equally pressured by tight market competition coming from leading manufacturers in Japan, Taiwan and the United States, some of which have set up base on the mainland. Just late last year, SanDisk established an assembly factory in Shanghai. Kingston also has a factory in the port city and another in Shenzhen.

To overcome these obstacles, makers are intensifying efforts to improve R&D capability. They plan to bring down prices as well to take advantage of continued low memory chip prices this year. A price decrease will also help makers stay competitive amid constant increase in output from upstream manufacturers.

Memory ICs are a key component of flash memory cards. With the memory chip industry suffering a prolonged downslide, storage media devices have become cheaper. In December 2007, the price of an 8GB multilevel cell (MLC) flash memory chip dropped 13 to 25 percent; the price of 16GB storage cards likewise dropped 21 to 25 percent.

A standard SD card with 512MB capacity is quoted at $4. A 1GB SD card fetches $7, 2GB is priced $10 and 4GB is at $35. TF cards with 1GB storage are $10, while high-speed CF cards with 2GB storage are $35.

Mainland China manufacturers source their flash memory chips from Hynix, Samsung, Micron and Toshiba, while controller ICs are supplied by some Taiwan companies.

Taiwan’s major memory IC suppliers are Samsung, Hynix, Micron and Intel. The island’s major suppliers of controller ICs are Phison, Solid State, SMI, Skymedi and InComm.

Makers are continuously improving manufacturing lines and factory equipment to fulfill the requirements of the flash memory card market.

In mainland China, active makers commonly operate chip-on-board (COB) lines and SMT lines in-house for better QC. Some have also established relationships with flash memory chip vendors to minimize the effects of IC supply and price fluctuations.

Flash storage specialist Biwin has 10 SMT machines and 22 production lines at its 65,000sqm factory. It employs 600 workers and can produce up to 1 million units a month. It has Samsung and Hynix as partner-suppliers, and has applied for CE, FCC and RoHS certification of its products.

DTT employs Samsung SMT machines and COB equipment. Its 3,000sqm factory has a monthly output of 1 million units. The company’s products are CE- and FCC-approved and comply with RoHS directives. It offers a five-year warranty for its products.

Shenzhen Tat, established in 1998, has a 1,000sqm factory that uses SMT machines, wave soldering plug-in lines, and test and aging rooms to turn out 200,000 units every month. The company specializes in flash drives, memory cards, digital photo frames, GPS, MP3/MP4 players, speakers and earphones.

Rfox owns a 4,000sqm factory and 1,000sqm molding workshop that can produce 300,000 units a month. Founded in 1998, the company’s products range from flash memory cards to card readers and adapters.

In Taiwan, PDC’s Taipei factory uses a patented in-mold method that features a water-resistant, dustproof seamless design. It is an improvement from the traditional production method that assembles two sides of a casing.

Monthly production capacity at Ritek’s factory in Hsinchu is 1.5 million units. The company mainly offers CF, SD and microSD cards.

A-Data, which moved its production base to Suzhou in mainland China last year, has six SMT lines that can produce 1.2 million flash products.

Interviewed makers from mainland China and Taiwan consider Europe and North America their major export markets. Manufacturers from the mainland have also established contact with key buyers from Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Most of Ritek’s flash memory cards are shipped abroad, accounting for about 90 percent of its sales. Forty percent of the company’s exports are sent to Europe. North America takes up 20 percent and Asia the remaining 10 percent.

Ritek’s own-brand business accounts for 30 percent of the company’s total sales, with the bulk coming from OEM/ODM contracts.

PDC’s leading export cities are located in Europe, the United States and Japan. ODM accounts amount to 70 percent of sales, with OEM contracts accounting for the remaining 30 percent. The company, however, plans to beef up its Mediafo brand amid stiff competition in the OEM/ODM market.