Kioxia America Sampling e-MMC V5.1 Compliant Embedded Flash Memory Products for Consumer Applications

Kioxia America, Inc. has begun sampling the latest gen of its JEDEC ⁽¹⁾ e-MMC Ver. 5.1 ⁽²⁾-compliant embedded flash memory products for consumer applications.

These products are available in capacities of 64 and 128GB and integrate the company’s BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory and a controller in a single package.

Demand for mid-range capacities in consumer products such as tablets and IoT devices continues to grow, and though the market continues to shift to UFS, there are cases where e-MMC may still be used. The company’s e-MMC devices expand the available options. A provider of flash memory and storage for consumer applications and mobile devices, the firm has been supporting e-MMC since 2007 and was a first supplier to introduce the higher performance follow-on solution to e-MMC, UFS ⁽³⁾, in early 2013. Today, the company’s lineup of e-MMC and UFS solutions provides support across a range of densities (4GB-1TB).

Latest gen BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory-based e-MMC offers following features well-suited to requirements of consumer applications, including:

• Newer gen of BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory ⁽⁴⁾

• Improved architecture that reduces internal write amplification and achieves more stable sequential write performance

• Pre-programmed user data that will now have higher reliability ⁽⁵⁾ before it is sent for reflow during customer’s manufacturing process

• Idle to auto-sleep time is reduced by 100x ⁽⁶⁾ from existing gen to help extend user application’s battery life

• Faster performance is achievable through accessing multiple dies inside the device

• Supports JEDEC eMMC 5.1 standard with fastest interface speed (HS400)

“Introducing next-gen e-MMC devices furthers our commitment to reinforcing our market-leading position by delivering a broad, high-performance product lineup, including for applications that continue to need e-MMC as an embedded memory solution,” said Scott Beekman, VP, memory business unit.

The company is sampling its next-gen e-MMC devices, with general availability expected in October.

⁽¹) JEDEC is a registered trademark of JEDEC Solid State Technology Association.
⁽²⁾ One of standard specifications of embedded flash memory defined by JEDEC.
⁽³⁾ Universal Flash Storage (UFS) is a product category for a class of embedded memory products built to the JEDEC UFS standard specification. JEDEC is a registered trademark of JEDEC Solid State Technology Association. First claim as of 2/7/2013.
⁽⁴⁾ Compared to existing Kioxia BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory e-MMC products.
⁽⁵⁾ Compared to existing Kioxia BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory e-MMC products which did not have a higher reliability before soldering mode.
⁽⁶⁾ 100x is calculated from current product auto-sleep time of 200ms to the new device which is now 2ms. By allowing the e-MMC to go from idle mode to auto-sleep faster, the battery drain will be slower, extending battery life.
Other factors that would inhibit/prevent such battery life extension is if the eMMC is always active and never goes to idle.