NAND Flash memory (Able to hold data even when the power of the device is off) is being introduced to the Market by Toshiba in 1987 based on the Single-Level Cell (SLC) technology. SLC-type (one-bit of information per cell) NAND Flash is still being widely used nowadays as SLC NAND is proven to be the MOST RELIABLE, HIGHEST SPEED and LONGEST-LIFE (Read/Write cycle) in the world of NAND memory; As a consequence, you will normally find the SLC based Products on the critical and performance-oriented platforms across various market segments (Server Computing, Cloud Computing, Industrial, Medical, Automobile, Finance/Security and Military). The 2nd generation of NAND is based on the Multi-Level Cell (MLC) technology such that two-bit of information (instead of one-bit) per cell is being adopted. Ideally the overall cost will be nearly cut by half … the drawback of MLC NAND is less speed performance, especially on Write speed aspect and less Read/Write cycle than SLC NAND. With the continued process enhancement, the reliability of MLC NAND based consumer products had enjoying leap-frog improvement over the last 6-year and it is able to meet most of the consumer expectation. At present, high quality MLC NAND Flash is widely used on consumer-grade Solid State Device (SSD). The latest technology on NAND Flash, named as Triple-Level Cell (TLC) with three-bit of information per cell, was commercially introduced in 2008. For sure, this is great invention from the cost perspective; however, nearly 3-year down the road, there is still many limitations on TLC NAND itself, especially on Write Speed performance and Read/write cycle endurance. Its mid-term reliability is still yet to verify. World-Top Brands is still far from adopting TLC NAND Flash on their mainstream products.

What is SYNC Mode? SYNC NAND?

SYNC Mode means SYNCHRONOUS (In English words, means ‘in-line with’). The feature of “SYNC Mode” memory has been around for many years. Some applications can fully utilize it whereas some can’t. On NAND world, SYNC Flash is not commonly adopted until recently; Its clear advantage on overall performance has widely demonstrated on the trendy Solid State Device (SSD); Some particular parameter, like Read performance, can enjoy very impressive improvement under SYNC operation. That’s why, the data-farm centric cloud computing is highly appreciated the adoption of mass storage with SYNC NAND Flash.