Link_A_Media Devices: 6Gb SATA and PCIe SSD Controllers

Link_A_Media Devices (LAMD), in the development of custom SoC solutions for the data storage market, announces the availability of its 6G SATA and PCIe, FlashLINK2 SSD controller technology platform.

Using the FlashLINK2 platform, LAMD can develop and ship samples of a new, custom SSD controller product, complete with NAND management and host interface firmware, in as little as five months.

The FlashLINK2 is a scalable platform, capable of supporting a broad of SSD applications ranging from 2 channels for Hybrid Hard Disk Drive and Consumer products to 16 channels for the enterprise segment.

It combines a robust data recovery sub-systems, based on LAMD’s second generation proprietary Adaptive DSP Error Recovery technology, with a data transport sub-system and user-customizable host interface block to deliver read/write transfer speeds and throughput, as specified below.

The Adaptive DSP Error Recovery is designed to increase the endurance of current and future generation MLC NAND devices to meet the lifetime requirements of enterprise-class usage while maintaining performance throughout the drive’s life. It achieves these key system objectives through the use of proprietary adaptive signal estimation methods and on-the-fly error correction technology.

The FlashLINK2 platform comes with NAND management and host interface firmware to support all NAND Flash supplier interfaces, along with hardware design that uses patented micro architectures for error-correction decoder and power management to deliver low power consumption.

According to Gartner Inc.’s latest research, the enterprise SSD market will grow from 1.3M units shipped in 2010 to over 11.6M units in 2015, a CAGR of 54%. MLC flash-based enterprise SSDs are predicted to be the fastest growing segment within this market.

"The endurance, performance and data integrity requirements for MLC flash based enterprise controllers are very stringent," said Joseph Unsworth, Research Director for NAND & SSD at Gartner. "MLC flash technology is an imperative for driving enterprise SSD adoption through lower prices and companies that can provide solutions that are easy to integrate and have compelling benefits and cost structure will be increasingly attractive."

"We are very pleased to announce the availability of our proven FlashLINK2 SSD controller platform, which features our endurance enhancing technologies to enable the widespread adoption of next generation MLC Flash in data storage devices," said Dr. Hemant Thapar, CEO, Link_A_Media Devices. "Our versatile platform is designed to enable our customers to suitably add their own hardware or firmware blocks to create custom controller products and deliver differentiated NAND-based system-level storage solutions. LAMD’s FlashLINK2 platform is significant because it enables manufactures to get to market quickly with a reliable, MLC flash based SSD."

The FlashLINK2 SSD technology platform is comprised of customizable hardware IP blocks and firmware modules, implementing a 6Gbps end-to-end NAND Flash controller. FlashLINK2 platform technology improves the endurance, reliability, cost and performance of NAND Flash storage for all applications (enterprise, client (PC, notebook) and embedded mobile storage).

LAMD is currently shipping MLC enterprise level products to a major OEM drive manufacturer.

Key Features:

2 to 16 NAND channels, up to 4 CE per channel
Support for 3xnm and 2xnm NAND Flash from all major Flash vendors
Legacy, ONFi and Toggle Mode NAND interfaces
PCIe 2 and SATA 6G host interface options
Proprietary endurance improving Adaptive DSP Error Recovery
End-to-end user data path protection
Strong BCH ECC capability with area/power efficient decoder architecture
SuperCap protection
Enterprise-class proven firmware platform for NAND management and data transport operations
Performance throttling options to guarantee product life
Defects management and error recovery
SMART support
Microsoft Windows 7 TRIM support