Micron is looking to reduce power and improve performance with a new client SSD that leverages its new 16nm process technology and with a feature that enables multi-level cell (MLC) NAND cells to act like single-level cell (SLC). The new M600 SATA SSD is aimed at the mobile computing segment, including Ultrabook platforms and tablets, says Steve Janzen, marketing communications manager at Micron, as well as high-performance PCs and video capture systems. He says the company sees the Ultrabook market -- tablets built like PCs -- as a growing segment for client SSDs. The M600 is available in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB mSATA and M.2 module configurations.

Jon Tanguy, senior technical marketing engineer at Micron, says the new 16nm lithography enables better write performance through a new feature called dynamic write acceleration, essentially allowing the M600 to switch programming modes so MLC NAND cells behave like technology switches, and NAND cells behave like higher-grade SLC Flash. The dynamic write acceleration improves write performance by creating a cache that is sized according to drive demands, rather than using up capacity to accommodate a permanent cache. This also reduces power consumption.

The dynamic write acceleration also improves endurance, he says. At 1TB capacity, the M600 can reach up to 400 TB total bytes written, which is five times more than typical client drives and enough endurance to write 220 GB daily for five years -- higher than the average client SSD workload.

While some vendors such as SanDisk and HGST have particularly focused on the enterprise SSD market, and many are offering enterprise SSDs for different workloads, the client SSD market is drastically bigger than the enterprise datacenter space, according to Joseph Unsworth, VP for NAND Flash and SSDs at Gartner. The mainstream PC SSD market will be will be more than 69 million units this year, while the enterprise SSD segment will be exceed nine million units. Ultimately, the PC SSD market has a much greater impact on Micron in terms of NAND consumption.

Micron¡¯s 16nm process technology, which has been in mass production since early this year, is significant, says Unsworth, since it represents a means for further cost reduction. Since Flash makes up the vast cost of the SSD, having an advantageous cost structure is key for pricing and attracting major OEM customers. But price isn¡¯t the only concern. It¡¯s about experience and justifying the premium for Flash storage compared to cheaper HDD technology.

Michael Yang, senior principal analyst at IHS, says one of the key metrics in SSD adoption has been how much SSDs can get to price parity with traditional hard drives. ¡°The gap is getting closer.¡± Micron¡¯s 16nm process technology contributes to a reduction in cost, but it also affects quality, particularly endurance, and MLC Flash is less reliable. But this is offset by improvements in controller technology and better flash management. ¡°The controller has really enabled major improvement in reliability, durability, and retention over time.¡±

The dynamic write acceleration feature is not an entirely new concept, he says, but it has does have advantages. Getting the performance of SLC with the capacity of MLC is ¡°the best of both worlds.¡±

Meanwhile, TLC NAND is expected to be adopted in the client segment in the near future. Micron is working on its 16nm TLC roadmap and expects to see component samples of the 16nm TLC by the end of the year, with client-based TLC SSD expected by spring of 2015. Samsung introduced 64 Gbit NAND flash using TLC and 21nm process technology in fall of 2012. Last month, Silicon Motion introduced an SSD controller to support a broad array of TLC NAND in client devices and 3D NAND, and to address endurance challenges.

By: DocMemory
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