Phison PS8311 Universal Flash Storage Controller Supporting 3D TLC NAND

Phison Electronics Corp. introduces its PS8311 UFS 2.1 controller.

It delivers performance and user experience through an upgrade in hardware and firmware architectures over the traditional eMMC design. This solution supports the latest 3D TLCs from different NAND manufacturers, addressing increasing storage capacity demands from the mobile market. T

he UFS controller has been qualified with major UFS mobile chipsets and is scheduled for Q1 2017 production.

UFS, or Universal Flash Storage, is a standard aimed to replace eMMC in mobile phones and SD cards in memory card applications. The latest UFS 2.1 specification is equipped with much higher data rates and a differential-signaling serial interface compared to eMMC 5.1 which is capped at 400MB/s interface. UFS 2.1 also allows for full-duplex operation and command queuing. PS8311 is the first in a series of company’s UFS controllers, enabling one-lane throughput that is 30% faster than eMMC in sequential reads. Additionally, PS8311’s 28,500 random read and 26,500 random write IO/s performances are two to three times higher than the fastest eMMC solutions today, for multitasking smartphone users.

The PS8311 UFS controller is equipped with StrongECC technology, a compact and low-power ECC engine designed for 3D TLC NAND memory. This ECC technology saves 70% of power consumption over legacy BCH ECC engines and has a 30% higher decoding capability. StrongECC on PS8311 makes it possible for 3D TLC NAND to reach the embedded memory endurance requirements and reduces time to market.

Targeted for higher densities, PS8311 can support a maximum of  eight NAND dice, enabling UFS solutions with capacities ranging from 16GB to 256GB based on 2D and 3D TLC. Additionally, the firm is developing a new two-lane solution targeting 512GB and 1TB capacities by the end of 2017.

PS8311 controller features:

• UFS 2.1 compliant, high-speed Gear 3, single lane throughput

• CoXProcessor architecture, inherited from PCIe, for NAND operation management resulting in lower system latency and higher random performance

• In-house M-PHY (high-speed Gear 3, 2-lane), UniPro and UFS IP

• StrongECC technology with both Hard Bit and Soft Bit enhanced decisions

• Maximum 3D TLC sequential R/W – 410/235MB/s

• Maximum 3D TLC 4K random R/W – 28,500/26,500 IO/s

“Phison is already a top controller supplier for eMMC and eMCP, the main storage component in mobile handsets, but we don’t just stop there“, said K.S. Pua, CEO and co-founder, Phison. “As the UFS standard is taking off in the high-end segment, we have put in our best engineering efforts to develop a cost-effective, high performance controller in parallel with Phison’s latest PCIe SSD architecture, grasping the high density 3D TLC trend that is quickly becoming the mainstream NAND output.“

While the world is preparing to embrace the 5G era, the PS8311 UFS controller drives the next generation in mobile storage. With performance over eMMC, it eliminates speed and latency bottlenecks to enable a smooth experience in applications such as virtual reality or 4K video. Using advanced packaging techniques, PS8311 can be adopted into several form factors such as the UFS Card, discrete BGA, or UFS-based multichip packages with low-power DRAM (uMCPs) for various mobile applications.