3D NAND SSDs provide the highest endurance available

Apacer has taken 3D NAND Flash optimisation to a higher level. It has released SLC-liteX industrial SSDs providing an outstanding 100,000 P/E cycles. That is three to 33 times higher than competing 2D MLC, or 3D TLC products can provide. 5G and AIoT manufacturers who are invested in large-scale data collection and analysis, with those requiring higher capacities, performance and endurance, will see the advantages of this development.

The endurance of any NAND Flash product may be measured in P/E cycles. Each time a write or erase action is performed, the Flash cell will suffer irreparable damage. In the industrial world, 3,000 P/E cycles were considered a competitive number. But with increasing demands for more significant endurance thresholds in applications such as 5G O-RAN and edge computing switches, the market was keen for more – while still recognising the paramount importance of cost-effectiveness. The company's team of firmware experts tackled the problem and tweaked the technology to produce 100,000 P/E cycles. Careful cell distribution management of the 3D TLC structure was essential to adjust the voltage delta and charge sensing correctly. Furthermore, powered by carefully chosen industrial grade NAND components, the firmware structure is specifically optimised to enhance NAND flash stability through daily operations. The error handling algorithm is greatly improved to evade any unexpected ECC errors.

An innovation like this also profits from long-term cooperation with some of the world's top component and material suppliers, and long-term stable component supply is assured. Its SATA SH250 and PCIe PH920 series are currently offered with 100,000 P/E cycles in various specifications. Gaming, surveillance, edge computing, and 5G smart IoT operations will benefit from increased endurance. Manufacturers building products that are planned for use in challenging environments are also offered with established value-adding features such as wide-temperature operation, which enables devices to function smoothly even in temperatures as low as -40C or as high as 85C. This is just another way it is demonstrating its core value of 'Becoming Better Partners'.