PORTABL

E
MEMORY
DEVICES
Pen drives | External Hard Disk Drives | Memory Cards
1.What is portable memory?
A memory device that is external to a computer, which
can be easily carried around, is called portable
memory/external memory. Eg. Compact Disks, USB pen
drive, external hard drive, memory cards. Old technology
includes floppy drives.

2.Uses of Portable memory:

a. Making back-up of important files and information
b. For easy and fast transfer of data between two
computers eg. A pen drive would help take a movie,
or music from my computer to my friend’s computer
c. Helps makes more space on your computer because
you can store files which you don’t use too often.
External hard drives are often used for this.
d. You can store important information on an
external memory device eg., a pen drive and keep it
safely so that no one else can access it.

1.Types of portable memory

a.Magnetic Storage

The earliest type of removable-storage technology is

magnetic storage. For example, 1.44-MB floppy-disk
drives using 3.5-inch diskettes have been around for about
15 years, and they are still found on almost every
computer sold today. In most cases, removable magnetic
storage uses a drive, which is a mechanical device that
connects to the computer. You insert the media, which is
 the part that actually stores the information, into the
drive.
b.Optical Storage
The optical storage device that most of us are familiar
with is the compact disc (CD). A CD can store a limited
amount of digital information (upto 800 MB) on a very
small surface. The CD surface is a mirror covered with
billions of tiny bumps that are arranged in a long, tightly
wound spiral. The CD player reads the bumps with a
precise laser and interprets the information as bits of data.
CDs come in different sizes and these days DVDs and HD-
DVDs are also available which can store between 4 GB to
30 GB of data, which are used more often than the normal
CDs. Disks are useful for storing data which will be
available for a long period of time. If properly stored, they
can last for years together.
DataPlay Micro-optical Disks: this was a new
innovation in 2001, but was not very popular due to the
introduction of pen drives and DVDs. These are disks the
 size of a coin and can store upto 500 MB of data.

c.Solid-State Storage
For modern day cellphones, digital cameras, digital
photoframes etc., “flash memory” is used. It is a solid
state type of storage, which means that there are no
moving parts. Flash memory works much faster than
traditional (EEPROM) chips.

Extra Note: Expandable RAM

These days, laptops and computers come with about 1 to
4 GB of RAM. Each can be extended upto a certain extent.
This increases the speed of the machine. Though it is not
quite in the same category as ‘portable memory’ it is extra
memory for a computer and very favourable these days,
as they can be extended upto 8 GB.
The three major forms of latest external data storage
devices are explained below:
A. MEMORY CARDS
A memory card or flash memory card is solid-state
electronic flash memory data storage device capable of storing
digital contents. These are mainly used with digital cameras,
handheld and Mobile computers, mobile phones, music players,
digital cinematography cameras, video game consoles, and
other electronics. They offer high re-record-ability, power-free
storage and small form factor.
They come in different sizes and with different capacities:
miniSD, microSD, MS Duo etc. There are different companies
manufacturing these like, SanDisk, Toshiba, Olympus, etc.
Latest memory cards can store upto 32 GB of data.
These cards are capable of fast, reliable performance while
allowing you to specify the data you wish to keep. They are
small, lightweight and easy to use. They are less rugged
than other forms of removable solid-state storage, so you
should be very careful when handling and storing them.
The data on these cards can be accessed from a computer or a
laptop using card readers. Each type of memory card has an
accompanying “adapter” for data reading.
These days Multi-Card Readers are used which is a device
with various slots, i.e. inbuilt adapters for most types of cards
and a USB cable which connects to the computer.
B.

External Hard Drives

Video files and images can take up a lot of hard drive space on
a computer resulting in a space shortage on your internal hard
disk drive, that’s why you need an external hard disk drive or
portable storage media. An external hard disk drive is an
easy way to increase hard drive space without installing a new
internal hard disk drive. An external drive can also be used to
restore your data in case your computer’s hard disk drive
becomes corrupted or unstable.

Types of external hard disk drive / Portable hard

disk drive.
• Desktop external hard disk drive.
• Portable external hard disk drive.

Desktop external hard disk drive.

These hard drives have capacities from about 320 GB
to 1.5 terabytes (1,500 GB). They are not portable,
usually fixed on your desktop. They use a direct power
supply. Commonly bigger size drives have slower
speed. A desktop external hard drive runs at a speed of
7,200 RPM and has a buffer size of about 2-16 MB.
Portable external hard drive.
Portable external hard drives are very small in size as
compared to desktop external drives. These smaller
drives usually connect with a USB cable and come in
capacities of 6 GB to 500 GB. They get power from the
USB, so you don’t need an external power supply.
Portable hard drives run at a speed of 5,400 RPM. They
have a buffer size of about 2 MB.

1 TB external HDD-Fujitsu 500GB external

HDD-Toshiba

C. USB Pen Drives

Sometimes referred to as a jumpdrive or portable USB flash
memory device, pen drives small memory storage devices
inserted into the USB port of the desktop computers or laptop
computers. Their capacities range from 1 GB to 128 GB.
Pen drives are classified as NAND style data storage devices.
Equipped with a large amount of memory capacity, the pen
drive is considered to be an improvement on both the older
floppy drive disks and the more modern compact disks that are
often used to copy data and reload the files on a different hard
drive. The types of files that can be loaded onto a pen drive are
all the common types that can be housed on any hard drive.
Utilizing a pen drive is a simple task. One end of the drive is
equipped with a USB connector at one end. The connector is
inserted into the USB port on a desktop or laptop and
activated. Once the pen drive is in place, it is possible to drop
and drag files into the memory of the drive, or forward the files
to the drive.
Persons using an older operating system can usually find a pen
drive that is compatible. As long as the desktop or laptop is
constructed with a USB port, and the pen drive is compatible
with the operating system, the pen drive will provide practical
and easy transmission of
data from one hard drive to
another one in a matter of
minutes.
Internals of a typical USB flash drive
1 USB connector
2 USB mass storage controller device
3 Test points
4 Flash memory chip
5 Crystal oscillator
6 LED
7 Write-protect switch (Optional)
8 Space for second flash memory

LATEST PRODUCTS
AND
DEVELOPMENTS:
Toshiba Packs 160 GB into Single-Platter 1.8-inch Hard Drives

Always looking to cram more capacity into media players, camcorders, and
other gear, Toshiba has unveiled a 160 GB single-player 1.8-inch hard disk
drive.
If there's one thing digital media consumers are supposed to want, it's more
storage capacity in ever-smaller packages—and Toshiba's Storage Device
Division is willing to comply, today announcing a new series of 1.8-inch hard
drives that manage to cram 160 GB of storage onto a single platter. The 1.8-inch
form factor is commonly used in devices like portable media players and
camcorders that need a large amount of storage in a compact, power-sipping
form factor.
"With the increasing demand for anytime content access and capture, we
continue to see healthy opportunity for 1.8-inch HDDs in portable devices," said
Toshiba SSD marketing VP Maciek Brzeski, in a statement. "Our 1.8-inch
produces have fuelled innovation in a variety of markets, and have been
installed in many products that are today common household items."
The new MKxx34GAL series sport a 8 MB of onboard cache, a 4,200 rpm
rotational speed, a 15ms average seek time, and support transfer rates of up to
100MB/s. Although the devices consume up to 1.8 watts when spinning up,
they run at under 1 watt when seeking, writing, and reading data, just 0.4 and
0.3 watts in active and low power idle modes, and just 0.7 watts when sleeping.
The drives connect to devices using a standard Parallel ATA connection, and
put out just 15 dB of noise when operating.
TSMC Unveils First Commercial 65-Nanometer Multi-Time
Programmable Non-Volatile Memory Technology
July 2nd, 2009
The technology incorporates process-qualified MTP IP blocks jointly developed
with Virage Logic. The new technology is the first 2.5 volt MTP process,
breaking the heretofore 3.3 volt baseline barrier. It eliminates the need for an
external EEPROM currently in many systems applications, thereby reducing
power, area and costs while increasing data security.
Built on TSMC’s 65nm Low Power (LP) process, the new MTP technology
features up to 8k bits memory size that is ideal for small memory requirements
associated with MP3 music downloadable digital rights management, RFID
devices, fingerprint identification applications, and pre-paid cash or phone
cards.
The 65nm MTP process is built up to 10 metal layers using copper low-k
interconnects and nickel silicide transistor interconnects. The technology is fully
logic-compatible and the NVM memory requires no additional processes or
masks. Devices built using the process will support full read and program
operations across temperatures ranging from - 40 °C to 125 °C, with minimum
10-year data retention at 125 °C.
“With inputs from customers’ design needs, we are convinced this 65nm
process is well-suited for applications that require a small memory footprint on
a leading edge manufacturing technology,” explains Jason Chen, vice president
Worldwide Sales and Marketing for TSMC.
Since TSMC first announced commercial availability of its 65nm process in
2006, the company has shipped over 700,000 12-inch wafers manufactured in
its Fab 12 and Fab 14. The full 65nm process node includes logic, mixed-signal,
R/F, and high-density memory options and supports a broad range of
computing, communications, and consumer electronics applications.
The 65nm LP process is ideal for cellular baseband, as well as portable
applications and multimedia processors. The 65nm general-purpose (G) process
targets graphics, networking and high-end ASIC fabrication, while the high-
speed process is intended for CPU and advanced graphics processors. The 65nm
LP plus G process that offers both low power and general purpose devices on
the same wafer, supports wireless and portable applications requiring both low
power and high performance.
TSMC’s 65nm node also supports an embedded DRAM option for high
bandwidth, fast data rate designs found in high-speed consumer applications
and in very small form factor handheld devices.
Samsung Launches 1.5 Terabyte 'EcoGreen' F2EG Hard Disk
Drive
March 9th, 2009
"Lower platter count means less power to start the motor, less power to
continuously spin the motor and a lighter head-stack which takes less power to
seek,” said Andy Higginbotham, director of HDD sales and marketing for the
Samsung Semiconductor Storage Division. “With fewer heads and disks, the
F2EG hard drive has a lower probability of head-disk failures, enabling
customers to build more reliable systems."
As hard disk capacity increases from an increased number of disks, so does
power consumption. However, Samsung’s F2EG drive offers low power
consumption by using EcoTriangle, a low-power, low-heat, low-noise operation
technology. With its advanced design and fewer components, the F2EG drive is
40% lower in power consumption in idle mode and 45% lower in
reading/writing mode than competitive drives. Samsung’s Eco-Triangle™
technology offers more energy efficient and high performance hard drive
options to manufacturers of home media PC, external HDD, set-top box, and
personal NAS.
In addition to the European Union (EU)’s Restriction of the Use of Certain
Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS)
Regulations, Samsung’s F2EG drive complies with many other environmental
regulations.
Samsung’s EcoGreen F2EG drive, which is suitable for both external hard disks
and desktop PC, incorporates 500GB/1TB/1.5TB capacity, 16MB/32MB buffer
memory, and 3.0 gigabytes per second (GBps) Serial Advanced Technology
Attachment (SATA) interface. The F2EG hard drive, employing advanced PMR
technology, achieves greater aerial density and improves transfer performance
as well.
The F2EG family of drives is currently being shipped to major OEM
businesses. The 1.5TB HDD is available at $149.00 MSRP.
Source: Samsung
Miniaturizing memory: Taking data storage to the molecular
level
November 11th, 2008
Researchers at The University of Nottingham are now exploring ways of
exploiting the unique properties of carbon nanotubes to create a cheap and
compact memory cell that uses little power and writes information at high
speeds.
Miniaturisation of computer devices involves continual improvement and
shrinking of their basic element, the transistor. This process could soon reach its
fundamental limit. As transistors approach nanoscales their operation is
disrupted by quantum phenomena, such as electrons tunnelling through the
barriers between wires.
Current memory technologies fall into three separate groups: dynamic random
access memory (DRAM), which is the cheapest method; static random access
memory (SRAM), which is the fastest memory — but both DRAM and SRAM
require an external power supply to retain data; and flash memory, which is
non-volatile — it does not need a power supply to retain data, but has slower
read-write cycles than DRAM.
Carbon nanotubes — tubes made from rolled graphite sheets just one carbon
atom thick — could provide the answer. If one nanotube sits inside another —
slightly larger — one, the inner tube will 'float' within the outer, responding to
electrostatic, van der Waals and capillary forces. Passing power through the
nanotubes allows the inner tube to be pushed in and out of the outer tube. This
telescoping action can either connect or disconnect the inner tube to an
electrode, creating the 'zero' or 'one' states required to store information using
binary code. When the power source is switched off, van der Waals force —
which governs attraction between molecules — keeps the Inner tube in contact
with the electrode. This makes the memory storage non-volatile, like Flash
memory.
Researchers from across the scientific disciplines will be working on the
'nanodevices for data storage' project, which is funded by the Engineering and
Physical Sciences Research Council.
Dr Elena Bichoutskaia in the School of Chemistry at the University is leading
the study.
Source: University of Nottingham
CREDITS:
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/removable-storage1.htm
http://www.getpcmemory.com/hard-disk-drives/internal-
working-of-a-hard-disk-drive-watch-the-video/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_card
http://www.getpcmemory.com/user-guide/external-hard-disk-
drive-and-portable-memory-storage-buying-guide/
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-pen-drive.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_flash_drive
http://www.pcworld.com/article/123728/top_10_externa
l_hard_drives.html
http://www.physorg.com/