Date: 11/11/2020

Bidirectional level translator connects SD memory with low voltage processors

Discrete semiconductor vendor Diodes Inc has made available a bidirectional level translator PI4ULS3V4857 to translate a 1.2V to 1.8V host side voltage into a memory card voltage signal of either 1.8V or 3.0V and vice versa. PI4ULS3V4857 finds use in range of applications such as communication, consumer, and computing system applications including smartphones, notebooks, SD/MicroSD card readers, wireless access points, and 5G femtocells.

PI4ULS3V4857 enables SD 3.0 memory cards to be used with the latest low-voltage microprocessors, SoCs, and ASICs.

With the higher clock rate of 208MHz, PI4ULS3V4857 supports the fastest SD card interface SD 3.0 SDR104. This device can also be used for SDR50 (100MHz), SDR25 (50MHz), DDR50 (50MHz), and SDR12 (25MHz) operation. It is backward compatible so that it can handle legacy SD 2.0 high-speed (50MHz) and default-speed (25MHz) modes too.

This chip also saves the design from using external level shifter. 100mA LDO voltage regulator and electro-magnetic interference (EMI) filters are integrated inside the chip to lessen the bill-of-materials costs. Built-in 8kV electro-static discharge (ESD) protection enhance the life of the device.

20-ball WLCSP packaged PI4ULS3V4857 is available now at a unit price of $0.50 in 3000-piece quantities.