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Visitor II
April 24, 2023
Solved

SD Card Alternatives

  • April 24, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 3403 views

I'm trying to find an embedded solution to replace an SD Card.

Basic non-volatile memory, I2C or SPI read/writes.

I spotted ST NVRAM, but can't seem to find much about it - is this a new or discontinued product?

Are there any other options that I should be considering?

Thanks,

Ben

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Best answer by Peter BENSCH

    On the website of STMicroelectronics you can find NVRAM, which are very old, are still operated with 5V and whose memory is quite small with 2...32KB.

    For NVM, i.e. non-volatile memory, ST has EEPROM, which are available with different interfaces: I2C, Microwire or SPI. However, EEPROMs are typically limited to relatively small amounts of memory, which, depending on the interface, lie between 1...4096kbit, i.e. 128 bytes ... 512KB.

    If you want more memory, you should use serial NAND flash, which is available from various manufacturers - just search for terms like "serial nand" using your favourite search engine.

    Does it answer your question?

    Regards

    /Peter

    2 replies

    Technical Moderator
    April 24, 2023

    On the website of STMicroelectronics you can find NVRAM, which are very old, are still operated with 5V and whose memory is quite small with 2...32KB.

    For NVM, i.e. non-volatile memory, ST has EEPROM, which are available with different interfaces: I2C, Microwire or SPI. However, EEPROMs are typically limited to relatively small amounts of memory, which, depending on the interface, lie between 1...4096kbit, i.e. 128 bytes ... 512KB.

    If you want more memory, you should use serial NAND flash, which is available from various manufacturers - just search for terms like "serial nand" using your favourite search engine.

    Does it answer your question?

    Regards

    /Peter

    BenG142Author
    Visitor II
    April 24, 2023

    Absolutely, thank you Peter.

    I was hoping to stick to ST for your great documentation and quick support (just like this), so that's fantastic!

    Many thanks,

    Ben

    Graduate II
    April 24, 2023

    eMMC and QUAD/OCTO SPI NAND and/or NOR Flash

    Depends a lot on the size and bandwidth/speed expectations. Usage patterns and how much error correction or block/wear management you want to deal with.