Flash Memory For Automotive Applications White Paper F-WP001 Corporate Headquarters: 39870 Eureka Dr., Newark, CA 94560, USA Tel: (510) 623-1231 Fax: (510) 623-1434 E-mail: info@smartm.com Customer Service: Tel: (+1) 978-303-8500 Email: customers@smartm.com Latin America: Tel: (+55) 11 4417-7200 Email: sac@smartm.com Europe: Tel: (+44) 7825-084427 Email: euro.sales@smartm.com Asia/Pacific: Tel: (+65) 6232-2858 Email: infoasia@smartm.com
Table of Contents Executive Summary... 3 Flash Memory For Automotive Applications... 4 Meeting Automotive Needs... 4 NAND Flash Technology Challenges... 5 emmc Benefits... 5 emmc Industry Standard... 5 2 Page February 2014
Executive Summary The automotive industry has experienced an explosive growth in the adoption of electronics in vehicles over the last decade. Industry estimates show that electronics components will grow from 15-20% of the total production costs of an average car in 2007, to as much as 40% in 2015. The main drivers for automotive electronics are: fuel economy, safety improvement, driver comfort and convenience, and regulatory mandates. Automotive electronics has evolved from single-purpose microcontrollers to high-performance compute platforms that manage multiple tasks and functions in an automobile. Reliable, high-capacity, solidstate storage is critical to support the increased processing power and data storage needs of the new generation of automotive electronics systems. NAND Flash memory has become the data storage technology of choice for automotive applications. SMART Modular emmc products offer a cost-effective NAND Flash storage solution that simplifies system design. Compliant to the JEDEC emmc standard v4.51, SMART s emmc products are manufactured in ISO-9001, ISO-14001 and TS-16949 certified facilities, to the stringent requirements and certifications as mandated by automotive and industrial OEM s; such as AEC-Q100 compliance. 3 Page February 2014
Flash Memory For Automotive Applications Advancements in automotive electronics usher in the era of connected car, advanced driver assistance system, GPS navigation, and feature-rich infotainment system. Automotive applications require highly reliable memory technologies to support the computation and data storage demands of modern automotive systems. SMART offers high-end memory products, in multiple embedded and removable form factors, to work with the automotive industry s newest and most demanding applications of today and tomorrow. NAND Flash memory has become the data storage technology of choice for Automotive and Industrial embedded applications for its functionality, reliability and cost effectiveness. System designers seeking to incorporate NAND Flash in their products are challenged by the implementation of complex error correction codes (ECC) and data management algorithms necessary to utilize NAND Flash memory natively. Meeting Automotive Needs Automotive applications present unique challenges for storage products. Electronics in vehicle must be designed to operate reliably in temperature extremes and consistently over the life of the vehicle. Electronic components used in automotive typically require adherence to stringent qualification criteria outlined in the AEC-Q100 standard from the Automotive Electronics Council and must be manufactured in TS16949 certified facilities. SMART s emmc Product Family is designed to meet the rigid requirements of the Automotive applications. The state-of-the-art emmc product utilizes a powerful 32-bit microcontroller with advanced error correction code (ECC) and Flash management algorithm that monitor and maintain the integrity of stored data over the life of the product and the full range of the operating temperature extremes. Robustness against SMART s emmc Product Family is an embedded memory solution that combines NAND Flash Memory, an embedded microcontroller, and advanced firmware in a small form factor BGA package that provides a robust, yet cost effective, high-density embedded NAND Flash storage solution. The emmc products are compliant to the JEDEC emmc v4.51 interface and protocol standard; available in JEDEC standard 169-ball and 100-ball BGA packages. emmc can simplify system design by making the complexity of the underlying NAND Flash technology invisible to the host system -- enabling easier design-in, reduced time-to-market, Manufacturing, Burn-In & Testing - TS16949 certified manufacturing - Automotive grade burn-in - Tested for -40 C to +85 C operation as well as simpler migration as the NAND Flash technology continues to scale. Designed for Reliability - Data protection against sudden power loss - Robust BGA package design SMART s Automotive Products PPAP and BOM Control - PPAP Level 3 - BOM control per customer requirements Product Quality - Qualification and on-going monitoring adhere to JEDEC and AEC-Q100 guidelines 4 Page February 2014
data corruption in a sudden power loss event is built-in to the controller hardware and firmware architecture. SMART s emmc delivers best-in-class random and sequential read/write performance and drivelevel endurance specification to meet the evolving automotive application demands. SMART s memory products for automotive are designed for high reliability and operation at -40 C to +85 C. Product qualification follows JEDEC and AEC-Q100 standard guidelines. BOM control and PPAP documentation are available to meet customer requirements. NAND Flash Technology Challenges While NAND Flash is a proven solid-state data storage technology, scaling towards ever finer geometries to reduce costs results in greater limitation on the lifetime (endurance) of the memory elements and higher probability of errors in the stored data (bit error rate). In addition, multi-level cell (MLC) NAND Flash (storing more than one bit of data in each memory element), with its yet lower inherent endurance and higher bit error rate, is becoming mainstream in embedded applications due to cost pressures. Sophisticated ECC and NAND data management schemes, such as wear-leveling, are necessary to extract the best performance from the NAND Flash memory while managing the bit errors and limited endurance to deliver a reliable NAND Flash storage system. Host Storage Subsystem Flash Management Software Logical-to-physical block translation Garbage collection Wear-leveling Power loss protection Bad block management Host Storage Subsystem emmc driver emmc Benefits When working with native NAND Flash components, data are written and read directly to physical locations in the NAND Flash memory. The host system needs to actively manage data at physical memory locations and correct bit errors as the data are read back from NAND Flash. Designers must implement the necessary ECC engine and data management algorithm in the host system, increasing the burden on host hardware and software design and validation. Revision to the design may be necessary each time the NAND Flash component is replaced by a newer part or a part from a different vendor. In comparison, emmc functions as a block storage device and interacts with the host system through an abstracted interface protocol analogous to an SSD. The host system simply writes and reads data to and from logical block addresses (LBA s), without needing to anticipate data errors and how the data would be stored and managed in the NAND Flash memory. The emmc controller hardware and firmware handles the error correction and data management functions internally without involvement from the host system. emmc Industry Standard emmc interface protocol and BGA package are standardized by JEDEC, ensuring compatibility and interoperability among different suppliers emmc products can be assured. The emmc specification v4.51 features a 200MB/s interface bandwidth for high-performance data transfer. It is fully backward-compatible to emmc v4.41 and legacy emmc specification versions. emmc is a standard storage technology design reference that provides a path forward regardless of the evolving underlying memory technology. NAND Flash Driver emmc I/F Controller ECC NAND I/F Controller emmc I/F (10 signals) NAND I/F (16 signals) NAND Flash Raw NAND emmc Controller NAND Flash emmc 0.5mm pitch, 169-ball 1.0mm pitch, 100-ball 2014. All rights reserved. The stylized S and SMART as well as SMART Modular Technologies are trademarks of SMART Modular Technologies. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective companies 02.10.14/FWP002/Rev.1 5 Page February 2014