Kioxia Sampling Up to 1TB UFS Ver. 4.1 Embedded Flash Memory Devices for Automotive Applications

Kioxia Corporation announced that it has begun sampling ⁽¹⁾ new Universal Flash Storage ⁽²⁾ (UFS) Ver. 4.1 embedded memory devices designed for automotive applications.

Engineered to meet the demands of next-gen in-vehicle systems, these new devices deliver significant performance, flexibility, and diagnostic enhancements – powered by the company’s Gen 8 BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory and in-house designed controller technology.

Available in capacities of 128, 256, 512GB and 1TB, the new UFS 4.1 devices are designed to fit the needs of infotainment, ADAS (Advanced Driving Assistant System), telematics, domain controllers, and vehicle computers. They meet AEC-Q100/104 ⁽³⁾ Grade 2 standards, supporting case temperature up to 115°C.

Elevating performance from the firm’s UFS 3.1Gen ⁽⁴⁾, the new UFS 4.1 (512GB) devices deliver:

• Approximately 2.1 times sequential read performance
• Approximately 2.5 times sequential write performance
• Approximately 2.1 times random read performance
• Approximately 3.7 times random write performance

These improvements provide a more responsive user experience in data-intensive automotive environments.

Key features include:

• Compliant with the UFS 4.1 Specification, which includes WriteBooster related extensions such as WriteBooster Buffer Resizing and Pinned Partial Flush Mode which provides better flexibility for optimal performance. UFS 4.1 is backward compatible with UFS 4.0 and UFS 3.1.
• Enhanced Diagnostic Capabilities, including a newly added vendor-specific device health descriptor, simplifying device status monitoring and predictive maintenance.
• Uses Gen 8 BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory.

UFS 4.1 devices from the compant integrate the company’s BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory and a controller in a JEDEC-standard package. These UFS devices are built with Kioxia’s Gen 8 BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory. This generation introduces CBA (CMOS directly Bonded to Array) technology – an architectural innovation that marks a step-change in flash memory design. By directly bonding the CMOS circuitry to the memory array, CBA technology enables major gains in power efficiency, performance, and density.

(1) Sample shipments of the 1TB device began in June, 128GB and 256GB device began in July. Specification of the samples may differ from commercial products.
(2) Universal Flash Storage (UFS) is a product category for a class of embedded memory products built to the JEDEC UFS standard specification. Due to its serial interface, UFS supports full duplexing, which enables both concurrent reading and writing between the host processor and UFS device.
(3) Electrical component qualification requirements defined by the AEC (Automotive Electronics Council).
(4) UFS 3.1 512GB device ‘THGJFGT2T85BAB5’.