Type of Memory Card - Compact Flash

Compact Flash memory (sometimes called CF) is a kind of memory card created in 1994 by the company SanDisk. Compact Flash is made up of a memory controller and a flash memory chip contained within a miniature casing (42.8mm wide and 36.4mm high), which is smaller than a matchbox and weighs only 11.4 grams.

There are two types of Compact Flash cards, with different dimensions:

• Type I Compact Flash cards, which are 3.3mm thick;

• Type II Compact Flash cards, which are 5mm thick.

CompactFlash cards comply with the PCMCIA/ATA standard, although the connector has 50 pins instead of 68, as PCMCIA do. For this reason, a CompactFlash card can be inserted into a passive Type II PCMCIA slot