Highly reliable M.2 type SSD with PCI Express support for industrial applications

TDK Corporation has launched its new M.2 2280 type SSD (SNP1A series), supporting PCIe and NVMe. The SSD integrates NAND flash memory, its GBDriver GX1 controller IC, and an internal backup power circuit, making it highly resistant to power interruptions.

In recent years, the number of SATA ports on the host CPU side has been declining, while demand for PCIe/NVMe-connected SSDs has been growing. Most SSDs compatible with PCIe/NVMe interfaces focus on transfer speed, catering to the requirements of applications such as servers, high-performance computing, and entertainment equipment. However, pure speed can come at the cost of reliability, a problem for applications such as industrial equipment and edge computing demanding stable operation.

The company has applied its know-how from past products to the NAND memory controller (GBDriver GX1) and developed an SSD with PCIe/NVMe interface support that delivers high data reliability for usage in OS boot-up, mainly in industrial equipment. It has developed new blackout countermeasure circuits for PCIe, which has also been useful in past products with industrial applications, resulting in the M.2 2280 form factor SSD resistant to sudden power interruptions.

The company designed the GBDriver GX1 NAND memory controller IC to consume about half the power of a common SSD with PCIe/NVMe interface support, making it attractive for edge computing equipment.

In addition, its SNP1A series has enhanced security measures, including not only the FW tampering prevention functions but also a proprietary security function that can prevent impersonation and protect against viruses such as ransomware, providing strong security against tampering and leakage of data in the NAND flash memory.

Main applications include edge computing equipment, industrial computers, embedded CPU boards, FA equipment, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, financial payment terminals, office automation equipment, advertising display equipment, medical equipment, data information system equipment, security equipment such as automatic security terminals, and disaster prevention equipment.