embedded world 2024 Best in Show Nominees: Memory & Storage

April 01, 2024

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The Embedded Computing Design editorial staff is pleased to present this year’s embedded world Best-in-Show nominees in the Memory & Storage category:

ATP Electronics Taiwan Inc. - Industrial Enterprise N651Sie E1.S SSD

Built with 176-layer NAND with 5,000+ program/erase cycle endurance, ATP's E1.S SSDs optimize performance through the PCIe® interface and NVMe protocol. Engineered for 1U Edge servers, E1.S SSDs enable vertical placement in small-footprint systems, accommodating 6 to 12 drives in a 1U chassis. Supporting hot swapping/hot plugging ensures easy serviceability and drive replacement while the system is on. High cross-temperature reliability results in low bit errors, enhancing transmission accuracy and data integrity. Housed in a 9.5 mm symmetric enclosure with up to 8 TB storage capacity, the drive features customized hardware and sustained performance firmware tuning, meeting hyperscale architecture demands.

ATP’s E1.S SSD is designed for IT and OT convergence applications, boasting industrial operational temperature for harsh environments and mirroring Enterprise SSD specs, including performance, low latency, and a 2.5+ DWPD. Operations across varying temperatures, like low-temperature writing and high-temperature reading, can lead to increased error bits. ATP's E1.S SSD features a cross-temperature error handling feature, mitigating errors and maintaining data integrity with a 125°C Operating Range.ATP's E1.S SSD plays a pivotal role in Autonomous Driving development for top-tier global automotive manufacturers, showcasing innovation and impact in the memory and storage landscape.

For more information, visit: https://www.atpinc.com/products/industrial-enterprise-edsff-e1s-ssd

 

ATP Electronics Taiwan Inc. -  N651Si/N601Sc CFexpress Type B cards

ATP N651Si/N601Sc CFexpress Type B cards use NVMe™ protocol and PCIe® 4.0 x2 interface, exceeding standard PCIe 3.0 x2 configurations with sequential speeds of 3500/3200 MB/s. Built with 176-layer flash (5K+ P/E cycles), they provide 1 TB storage for IPC/embedded, automation, networking, and transportation. The cards feature HMB support, optional TCG Opal 2.0, hardware write-protect security, and software RAID 0, 1 compatibility. Ensuring sustained performance, the N651Si/N601Sc cards monitor device temperature, enabling firmware-based throttling for performance adjustments without drastic drops.

ATP N651Si/N601Sc CFexpress Type B card is among the industry's first to adopt NVMe™ protocol utilizing the PCIe® 4.0 x2 interface. ATP N651Si/N601Sc CFexpress is designed for applications requiring great storage capacity in a small footprint, transferability, and fortified security. It is industrial-temperature operable (-40°C to 85°C); the card can also be configured to pSLC mode with 100k+ P/E cycles endurance. Additionally, the ATP N651Si/N601Sc CFexpress card incorporates an innovative hardware write-protect switch design, ensuring data security by preventing modifications or deletions. Activatable through hardware settings, this feature renders the card read-only, thwarting unauthorized write access and data tampering.

For more information, visit: https://www.atpinc.com/products/industrial-CFexpress-NVMe

 

Silicon Motion Inc. - PCIe Gen4 NVMe FerriSSD®

FerriSSD® is the PCIe Gen4 Single-Chip SSD. The innovation of our product lies in our proprietary technologies that seamlessly integrate hardware and software on a single chip, representing a significant paradigm shift in SSD technology. This integration addresses conventional challenges like heat and environmental interference, ensuring the effective protection of the BGA-SSD. Notably, our approach goes beyond the standard limitations of NAND technology, markedly enhancing data integrity. The inclusion of a Dual ARM Cortex R8 CPU, along with features like a performance-optimized LDPC engine, end-to-end data path protection, and robust data protection mechanisms such as RAID engine and Advanced system-level protection against unstable power supply, ensures maximum error correction capability and multi-page protection for NAND flash data. 

The FerriSSD® adeptly tackles the challenges faced by diverse embedded applications that demand faster access speed, a compact form factor, and reliable PCIe NVMe storage. Through the integration of industry-proven controller technology, NAND flash, and passive components into a unified BGA package, FerriSSD® not only streamlines design efforts but also reduces time-to-market, effectively shielding against concerns related to NAND technology migration. The latest FerriSSD Cx series, equipped with PCIe Gen 4 x4 and 3D NAND Flash, incorporates cutting-edge technologies such as IntelligentScan, DataRefreshTMä, NANDXtend® ECC engine, and end-to-end data path protection. This ensures unparalleled data integrity for non-volatile storage devices. 

For more information: visit: https://www.siliconmotion.com/products/FerriSSD/detail

 

Apacer Technology B.V. - Apacer industrial SD-WORM (Write Once Read Many) Card

Apacer industrial SD-WORM (Write Once Read Many) Card is a product that provides data storage protection by allowing data to be written once, preventing it from being erased, modified, or overwritten. This write protection function ensures that the data cannot be tampered with once it is written to the device. Apacer SD-WORM Card complies with SD card version 6.1. Furthermore, the SD card is compatible with SD protocol. With built-in ECC, wear-leveling, and bad block management, this industrial SD card serves as an ideal portable storage solution.

Designed specifically for rigorous applications by offering reliability and agility, where extreme traceability, enhanced data integrity, and exceptional velocity are required, the Apacer SD-WORM Card comes with a 9-pin interface designed to operate at a maximum operating frequency of 208MHz. It can alternate communication protocol between the SD mode and SPI mode. It performs data error detection and correction with very low power consumption. With high performance, good reliability, and wide compatibility, the Apacer SD-WORM Card is one of the most popular cards well-adapted for rugged and embedded applications ranging from industrial, imaging, and computing to enterprise markets.

For more information, visit: https://www.apacer.com/en/product/industrial-product/detail/industrial_ssd/sd-worm

 

Exascend - AS500 Series BGA SSD

The AS500 series HSBGA SSD is a groundbreaking NVMe storage solution in the standard M.2 Type 1620 BGA package form factor. Compliant with PCIe Gen4x4 and NVMe 1.4, it delivers blistering sequential read/write speeds up to 5,000/1,600 MB/s. Featuring an industrial-grade 176-layer 3D TLC NAND Flash, it offers high endurance, low power consumption, and unparalleled reliability. With an impressive operating temperature range of -40°C to +105°C, the AS500 series is purpose-built for automotive and mission-critical applications, providing an ideal blend of top-tier performance, efficiency, and ruggedness in harsh environments.

The AS500 NVMe HSBGA SSDs from Exascend are engineering marvels tailor-made for automotive applications, packing unparalleled performance and advanced storage technologies into an incredibly compact M.2 Type 1620 form factor. With cutting-edge features like Adaptive Thermal Control™, DRAM-less with HMB support, a rugged BGA design, and an impressive -40°C to +105°C operating temperature range, these drives offer uncompromising performance, power efficiency, and reliability in the harshest automotive conditions. From blistering speeds to extreme temperature resilience, the AS500 series raises the bar for compact automotive storage solutions, making them truly deserving of the prestigious Best in Show award.

For more information, visit: https://exascend.com/as500-bga-ssd/

 

Exascend - PR4 Series E1.S SSD

The PR4 series E1.S SSD is a state-of-the-art, radiation-hardened storage solution designed for mission-critical deployments. With unparalleled radiation tolerance, advanced firmware protection, and ruggedized design, it guarantees data integrity and reliable performance in the harshest environments. Featuring PCIe Gen 4x4, NVMe 1.4, and 176-layer 3D TLC NAND, it delivers blistering speeds and capacities up to 7.68TB. Engineered for industrial temperatures, power loss protection, and data security, the PR4 SSD is the ultimate choice for aerospace and mission-critical applications demanding unwavering reliability.

The PR4 series E1.S SSD is a game-changer in the realm of mission-critical storage solutions. With its unparalleled radiation tolerance, advanced firmware protection, and ruggedized design, it redefines reliability in the harshest environments. Leveraging cutting-edge technologies like Adaptive Thermal Control™, SuperCruise™, and data security features, the PR4 SSD delivers uncompromising performance, power efficiency, and data protection. Its innovative engineering and unwavering commitment to excellence make it the epitome of mission-critical storage, deserving of the coveted Best in Show award.

For more information, visit: https://exascend.com/pr4-series-e1s-ssd/

 

Innodisk Corporation - E1.S 4TG2-P

Innodisk E1.S 4TG2-P is the first industrial-grade enterprise SSD on the market, featuring up to 8TB capacity, the EDSFF E1.S form factor, and the industrial SSD design tailored to address the reliability and density needs of storage in emerging AIoT and edge server application in harsh environments. While its PCIe Gen4x4 interface enables high performance, Innodisk’s patented dynamic thermal management mechanism plus the excelled power and thermal design of the E1.S form factor, ensures sustained performance in edge applications. With the rising popularity of AIoT and edge servers, the E1.S 4TG2-P could be a game-changer for the market.

● True industrial-grade durability, supporting -40°C~80°C temperatures with patented thermal management, while other enterprise SSDs on the market can only support 0°C~70°C. ● High storage density up to 8TB on a single drive. ● Power-loss protection (PLP) is crucial for edge environments to secure the data upon any power-loss event. ● High performance with PCIe Gen4 x4 interface, reaching up to 6900/4500 MB/s read/write speeds. ● Perfectly suited for AIoT and edge servers, meeting harsh environment demands while providing high capacity and performance in a compact form factor.

For more information, visit: https://www.innodisk.com/en/products/flash-storage/edsff/e1.s-4tg2-p

Tuxera - Tuxera Persistence Manager™

Tuxera Persistence Manager is a premium add-on feature for Tuxera’s commercial-grade exFAT file system implementation, Microsoft exFAT by Tuxera™. Tuxera Persistence Manager enables embedded systems designers to control, using software, how much data is committed to the storage media and at what time interval. This hardware cost-friendly feature ensures that Linux- and Android-based recording devices like dash cams, DVRs, or drones never lose any data in the event of a power loss. In addition to improved data resiliency, this new feature allows super- and ultra-capacitor sizes to be optimized – with the added benefit of manufacturing and hardware cost savings.

In a power-loss situation, super- or ultra-capacitors are typically used to provide a small amount of power while the data flush occurs. But supercapacitors can be expensive. Tuxera Persistence Manager enables embedded systems designers to control how much data is committed to the storage media and at what time interval. With this feature, the dependency on supercapacitors to provide power-fail safety and prevent data loss can be optimized. When compared to more complex alternatives – such as implementing flushes at the application level or tweaking the system configuration – Tuxera’s solution alleviates the problem of early flash burnout and saves development time.

For more information, visit: https://www.tuxera.com/products/tuxera-exfat-embedded/

Neumonda GmbH - Neumonda Rhinoe DRAM Tester

Qualification and testing of semiconductor components is one of the most expensive and complicated parts in the manufacturing of memory ICs. The Neumonda Rhinoe DRAM Tester was designed to enable smaller companies to conduct vendor-independent tests that also simulate the actual application environment to predict potential DRAM failures more accurately. It is about 1,000 times smaller and only requires a 1,000 times lower investment compared to traditional test equipment. Combined with a 100-time reduced energy consumption, for the first time, Neumonda enables cost-efficient testing of DRAMs for several hours or days to get reliable long-term performance results.

With its new Rhinoe DRAM tester, Neumonda revolutionizes memory testing. The tester is lightweight, low-cost, and energy-efficient and enables hour-long testing of DRAM components simulating the actual environments they are used in, instead of testing standard parameters for only a few minutes in sterile labs. With the tester, Neumonda helps fabless memory manufacturers qualify ICs in just a couple of weeks, track down the root cause of DRAM failures within 48 hours, and provides a tool to test components that are needed for several decades like in avionics or aerospace. No one else can do that today, that is unique.

For more information, visit: https://www.neumonda.com/neumonda-technology/