Computer Busses

8

PCMCIA

8.1 Introduction

The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) interface allows small thin cards to be plugged into laptop, notebook or palmtop computers. It was originally designed for memory cards (Version 1.0) but has since been adopted for many other types of adapters (Version 2.0), such as fax/modems, sound cards, local area network cards, CDROM controllers, digital I/O cards, and so on. Most PCMCIA cards comply with either PCMCIA Type II or Type III. Type I cards are 3.3 mm thick, Type II take cards up to 5 mm thick, Type III allows cards up to 10.5 mm thick. A new standard, Type IV, takes cards which are greater than 10.5 mm. Type II interfaces can accept Type I cards, Type III accept Types I and II and Type ...