Innodisk Creates iSLC Flash Technology – MLC NAND Flash Approaches SLC Performance And Reliability

Innodisk, a Taiwanese designer and manufacturer of industrial application SSDs, is announcing its development of its new patent pending technology called iSLC.  By gleaning only the best quality multi-level cell NAND Flash modules, and managing them with Innodisk’s patented Flash management algorithms, iSLC is able to approach performance and reliability levels normally associated with more expensive SLC NAND.  iSLC creates a much more cost effective solution for industrial applications, such as kiosks and point-of-sale (POS) devices that are able to perform at high capacity at a significantly reduced cost.

While more economical than SLC NAND, MLC historically could not offer the reliability and performance of SLC that is needed for critical industrial applications.  The widespread growth of MLC NAND usage is a reflection of the lower price point.  Innodisk’s R & D team sought to create a product to fill the gap between the lower price point of MLC and the superior performance and reliability of SLC, but without the higher price tag usually associated with SLC-based products.

iSLC technology reprograms the two bits per cell of MLC into one bit per cell, which increases the sensitivity difference between each level.  This enables the NAND Flash to perform similarly to an SLC Flash-based solution.  By utilizing iSLC, the average endurance of the NAND can surpass 30,000 Program/Erase cycles, thus increasing the lifespan of the drive versus regular MLC Flash by a factor of several times.  Write performance utilizing iSLC is also about 70% faster than MLC via a SATA II interface.

Innodisk has incorporated iSLC into many of its SATA II product lines.  Innodisk SATA III products featuring iSLC will be available beginning in the second quarter of 2013.  Innodisk’s press release regarding iSLC can be viewed here.  To see Innodisk’s technology page for iSLC, pleas click here.