Industrial controller integrates up to 64 GB multi-level cell flash

Swissbit's embedded Multimedia card EM-20 combines an industrial controller with reliable multi-level cell (MLC) flash in a BGA153 package, making it possible to solder the memory directly onto the PCB of the target application.

With capacities from 8 to 64 GB, the EM-20 can replace commonly used NAND memory chips which depend on elaborate operating system resources. Thanks to its integrated controller, flash management functionality and standardized interface, the device can be easily designed into applications. The firmware is designed for use as a streamlined and energy-saving boot medium for medical devices, POS/POI terminals or demanding industrial embedded computing applications. Swissbit's EM-20 can be optionally operated in reliable / pseudo-SLC mode (pSLC). pSLC (pseudo Single Level Cell) stores only one bit per MLC cell. For certain applications, the pSLC mode offers important advantages: it is significantly faster than the standard use of multi-level cell flash technology and at the same time it increases the possible P/E cycles (program/erase cycles) from 3,000 to 20,000. Under the same conditions, the endurance of the data carriers increases by a factor of 6.7. The user can flexibly configure and choose between pSLC or MLC mode, even separately for different partitions if required. Firmware features page-based flash management, wear levelling, read disturb management, data care management and secure data erasure. The Replay Protected Memory Block (RPMB), a one-time writable partition, makes key-storage for Trusted Execution Environments possible. With data-refresh-functionalities and an industrial operating temperature range from -40 to +85°C, the data carrier is designed for long-term operation under harsh conditions. Read speed is up to 270MB/s and writing speed is up to 160MB/s.