Toshiba Memory America Adds UFS to Lineup of Embedded NAND Flash Memory Products for Automotive Applications

Addresses Data Storage Demands of Increasingly Complex Applications Including Automotive Entertainment & Information Systems and ADAS

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Toshiba Memory America, Inc. (TMA), the U.S.-based subsidiary of Toshiba Memory Corporation and the maker of the industry’s first Universal Flash Storage (UFS) devices^[1], today announced that it has begun the sampling of new Automotive UFS (JEDEC ver. 2.1 HS-G3) embedded memory solutions. TMA’s Automotive UFS supports a wide temperature range (-40°C to +105°C), meets AEC-Q100 Grade2^[2] requirements and offers enhanced reliability capabilities that increasingly complex automotive applications require. The lineup consists of a wide range of capacities: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB.

The addition of Automotive UFS expands TMA’s lineup of embedded NAND flash memory products for automotive applications – joining its Automotive e-MMC^[3] family. The storage requirements for automotive applications continue to increase as entertainment & information systems and ADAS^[4] in cars become more sophisticated. UFS is well-suited to support the high-performance and density needs of these applications.

"Automotive storage requirements continue to expand across a variety of applications within the vehicle as they become more autonomous,” said Gregory Wong, president, Forward Insights. “This includes the memory used for ADAS recognition and decision components, V2X components, infotainment and clusters. Toshiba's broad density lineup of high-speed UFS memory for automotive is perfectly positioned to support this trend."

TMA’s new Automotive UFS devices are based on the company's 15nm process technology. By utilizing the UFS interface, significantly higher performance than Automotive e-MMC is realized. For example, sequential read is 2.7 times, sequential write is 1.1 times, random read is 7 times, and random write is 4.4 times faster (approximately) than Automotive e-MMC^[5].

“Our UFS for consumer applications boosts overall system performance in mobile devices, and the introduction of Automotive UFS will have a similarly positive impact on the development of in-vehicle infotainment and ADAS systems,” noted Scott Beekman, director of managed flash memory products for TMA. “As the storage requirements for automotive applications continue to accelerate, Toshiba will continue to lead the market forward by reinforcing our lineup of high-performance, high-density memory solutions targeted to the automotive sector.”

Several new functions have been added to Automotive UFS, such as Refresh, Thermal Control and Extended Diagnosis, which are well-suited to the requirements of automotive applications. The Refresh function can be used to refresh data stored in UFS and helps to extend the data’s lifespan. The Thermal Control function protects the device from overheating in high-temperature circumstances that can occur in automotive applications. Lastly, the Extended Diagnosis function helps users easily understand the device’s status.

Lineup of the New Products

Product Name	Capacity	Temperature Range	Package	Sampling Start Time
THGAF9G7L1LBAB7	16GB	-40℃~+105℃	11.5x13.0x1.0mm	Dec. 2017
THGAF9G8L2LBAB7	32GB	-40℃~+105℃	11.5x13.0x1.0mm	Dec. 2017
THGAF9G9L4LBAB8	64GB	-40℃~+105℃	11.5x13.0x1.2mm	Dec. 2017
THGAF9T0L8LBAB8	128GB	-40℃~+105℃	11.5x13.0x1.2mm	Dec. 2017
THGAF9T1LBLBABY	256GB	-40℃~+105℃	12.0x16.0x1.6mm	2Q, 2018 (Apr.-Jun.)

Key Features

1. Extended Temperature Range
Supports operating temperature range of -40°C to +105°C. Reliability tests were conducted to meet AEC-Q100 Grade2 specifications, in addition to JEDEC compliance tests.

2. Wide Capacity Range
Supports wide capacity range from 16GB to 256GB. Suitable for a wide variety of automotive applications, such as entertainment & information systems and ADAS, which typically require high-capacity storage, as well as other applications (such as wireless communication) that may need only smaller capacity.

3. High Performance
Realizes much higher performance compared to Automotive e-MMC.

4. Additional Functions
Supports additional functions designed for automotive applications, such as Refresh, Thermal Control and Extended Diagnosis.

5. Integrated NAND Flash Memory Management
The JEDEC UFS V2.1 compliant interface handles essential functions, including bad block management, error correction, wear leveling, and garbage collection. As a result, UFS devices simplify design when compared to standalone memory integrated circuits with a standard NAND flash interface.

Key Specifications

Interface	JEDEC UFS V2.1 standard HS-G3 interface
Capacity	16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB
Power Supply Voltage	2.7-3.6V 1.7V-1.95V	(Memory core) (Interface)
Temperature Range	-40^oC to +105^oC
Package	153Ball FBGA 11.5mm x 13.0mm (16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB)	169Ball FBGA 12.0mm x 16.0mm (256GB)

Notes:
[1] Universal Flash Storage (UFS) is a product category for a class of embedded memory products built to the JEDEC UFS standard specification.
[2] Electrical component qualification requirements defined by the AEC (Automotive Electronics Council).
[3] e-MMC is a product category for a class of embedded memory products built to the JEDEC e-MMC Standard specification.
[4] Advanced Driving Assistant System
[5] Comparison of 64GB devices.

Product density is identified based on the density of memory chip(s) within the Product, not the amount of memory capacity available for data storage by the end user. Consumer-usable capacity will be less due to overhead data areas, formatting, bad blocks, and other constraints, and may also vary based on the host device and application. 1GB is calculated as 1,073,741,824 bytes. For details, please refer to applicable product specifications.

About Toshiba Memory America, Inc.

Toshiba Memory America, Inc. (TMA) is the U.S.-based subsidiary of Toshiba Memory Corporation, a leading worldwide supplier of flash memory and solid state drives (SSDs). From the invention of flash memory to today’s breakthrough 96-layer BiCS FLASH™ 3D technology, Toshiba continues to lead innovation and move the industry forward. For more information on TMA, please visit www.toshiba.com/TMA and follow the company on Facebook and on Twitter: @Toshiba_Memory.

©2017 Toshiba Memory America, Inc. All rights reserved. Information in this press release, including product pricing and specifications, content of services, and contact information is current and believed to be accurate on the date of the announcement, but is subject to change without prior notice. Technical and application information contained here is subject to the most recent applicable Toshiba product specifications.