TDK Develops SD/SDHC Series for Industrial Applications

TDK
Corporation
announced the development of a
series of
SD/SDHC cards and microSD for industrial applications.

The MMGBA Series of SD/SDHC cards
and MUGBA Series of MicroSD cards offer durability, error
correction and a monitoring function, making them suited to
industrial applications in which reliability and service life are important features.

SD and microSD are memory
card standards established by the SD Association, and SD and
microSD card are finding uses in
industrial equipment, in addition to consumer equipment. Products designed for such uses must meet
requirements not only with regard to reliability but also in terms of durability, security, and
reliability monitoring.

TDKs expertise in developing NAND
modules for products like NAND flash memory controllers, CF cards,
and SSD has enabled it to develop the features in the new MMGBA/MUGBA series. The SD and micro SD cards
offer design engineers, reliability compared to ordinary SD cards.

The product uses speed, durability SLC NAND type flash memory instead
of the MLC type NAND flash memory
found in SD cards. Global Static wear leveling
achieves performance distributed writing, and storage life meets the
requirements of industrial equipment characterised by usage
frequency and long service periods.

The rewrite life monitoring
function valued by users of TDK’s CF cards and SSDs has also been
implemented in the MMGBA and MUGBA Series. Tolerance for power
interruptions, another requirement for the industrial sector, has
been strengthened, and an error correction function that can be
expanded to 16-bit ECC elevates data reliability to previously
unheard-of levels.

The MMGBA series and MUGBA series
will be available from August.

Main applications:

SD/SDHC card or MicroSD
card slots which require long service life, extended storage duration
and advanced error correction.

Main features:

• 1. Host Interface

Compliant with SDA
specification Ver 2.0, SDHC Class 10 (4GB and higher, 2GB and
lower: SD Class 6). Realizes high-speed access:
19MB/s read access, 15MB/s write access (Data are for reference
only; measured with Crystal Disk Mark 2.1. Actual results will depend
on system environment.)

• 2 .SLC
  NAND Type Flash Memory

• 3. Global Static Wear
  Leveling

Global static wear
leveling algorithm counts the number of times each memory block is
rewritten (erased) and replaces blocks uniformly. Static blocks such
as OS/FAT are also periodically leveled, which improves
the lifespan of the installed flash memory. The 8GB type
supports 1.5 billion rewrite cycles. Even at a rate of 5 rewrites per
second, this equates to an expected service life of 10 years.

• 4. Power Interruption
  Tolerance Algorithm

Using technology developed
for NAND type flash memory controllers, CF cards, and SSDs, a
proprietary algorithm reduces the risk of data errors such
as corruption of data other than the data being written if power is
interrupted when writing data.

• 5. Error Correction

Surpassing the regular
error correction requirements for SLC NAND type flash memory (4-bit,
8-bit/1KB ECC), the cards incorporate 16-bit/1-KB ECC, making
them more robust.

• 6. SDA Compliant Content
  Protection CPRM Capability

• 7. Life Monitoring Function

The life diagnosis tool TDK
SMART provides information about the rewrite (erase) status of all
memory blocks, facilitating maintenance and allowing
setting-based management of expected service life and replacement
timing

• 8. Solution Support

TDK has developed and marketed the GBDriver series of NAND Flash memory
controllers since 2000 and provides technical support to customers in
Japan and overseas backed up by its proprietary
technologies. This includes dispatch of field application engineers
and support for implementation of the reliability monitoring
function, which are important services in the embedded
systems market.

• 9. Environmental
  Considerations

The product complies with
the EU RoHS directive (2002/95/EC) of July 2006 for the restriction
of hazardous substances.