Hitachi Semiconductor Inc. has entered the MultiMediaCard market with sample availability of a 16MB Flash card.

Manufactured on a 0.25-micron process, the 16MB device integrates Hitachi's AND-type flash memory and the SuperH RISC CPU core, making it the first single-chip MultiMediaCard solution.

Hitachi's Multi-Level Cell design provides the ability to store two bits of information per transistor, without the performance hit generally associated with this technology The MLC technology provides a source of durable, low-voltage, high-performance memory appropriate for battery-powered consumer electronics.

The 16MB Flash MultiMediaCard features - with a 17-Mbps read speed and a 7.7-Mbps write speed - will be available in May for $65 in sample quantities.

Hitachi Semiconductor maintains a web site at http://semiconductor.hitachi.com .