March 29, 2024

InnoGrit Corporation Discusses the Future of SSD Storage

InnoGrit Corporation is a data storage company focused on innovative AI approaches to big data applications through integrated circuit (IC) systems and SSD controller solutions. In the article below InnoGrit explains what the future of SSD storage may hold for businesses and individuals.

As technology has advanced in recent years, solid state drives (SSDs) have quickly become an alternative to the standard spinning-disk hard drive. While some of these advancements can be attributed to recent innovations in producing more efficient semiconductors, InnoGrit Corporation explains that the major push towards implementing SSD storage in everyday devices comes down to superior component parts and better-organized firmware.

Here InnoGrit Corporation explores some of these recent advancements and discuss how they will propel SSD storage systems into the mainstream over the next few years. By 2025, you could very well see these technologies in your home and even in your pocket.

InnoGrit Corporation on 3D V-NAND Flash Memory Chips

InnoGrit Corporation explains that at the core of any SSD is a series of floating-gate transistors that store data without voltage, i.e., they continue to store information without electricity. To maximize utility, these transistors are arranged into memory cells known as a NAND. As manufacturers increase the number of memory cells within a NAND, they can increase the storage capacity in a device.

In recent years, though, NAND manufacturers such as Samsung have attempted to improve NAND flash hardware by increasing the number of memory cells within each device, only to find that the more they crammed the cells, the less reliably they would store data. To overcome these setbacks, NAND manufacturers developed a new technique for stacking these memory cells—vertically.

By stacking the cells vertically into layers, InnoGrit Corporation reports that 3D V-NAND technology is faster and more efficient than traditional NAND flash hardware. This has allowed the company to produce more powerful devices with increased memory capacity, without the need for a spinning disk hard drive.

Fail-in-Place Firmware

InnoGrit Corporation explains that in a traditional SSD, if a single memory cell in the NAND were to fail and were not corrected by error correction coding (ECC), it’s likely that the entire system would also fail, causing systemic memory loss. Developers saw the wide limitations in this flaw and set about finding a solution. This meant tinkering with the firmware (essentially the software within the SSD) to resolve how it interacts with defects.

What they came up with is something called fail-in-place firmware, or FIP. According to InnoGrit Corporation this new type of firmware enables the SSD to continue functioning even if one of the memory cells fails. Instead of killing the entire device, it allows what’s left of the NAND to continue functioning at a lower memory capacity, ensuring that your device doesn’t just die.

This is a monumental shift in the way that SSDs are able to function and could lead to a major increase in their reliability.

PCI Express Interface

The standard interface for SSDs was the Serial ATA, or SATA, interface. InnoGrit Corporation says this has been the standard for years and is what allows an SSD to connect to and communicate with a computer’s motherboard. The problem with SATA, though, is that it has a relatively slow data transfer speed.

As SSDs have become more popular, the need for a faster interface has become more pressing. The solution is the PCI Express (PCIe) interface, which is able to transfer data at speeds of up to 16 gigabits per second per lane. This is a significant increase over the original SATA 3.0 interface, which was only able to transfer data at speeds of up to 6 gigabits per second.

The PCIe interface is rapidly replacing SATA to be the new standard for SSDs in the future.

Innogrit Corporation

Where These Advances Will Take SSD Storage in the Future

InnoGrit Corporation reports that SSD technologies are quickly becoming a focus for many tech developers and manufacturers, leading to a revolution in how we approach device storage. As SSDs become more powerful, efficient, and reliable, they will likely replace traditional hard drive storage systems in everyday devices.

Once developers perfect the systems in place, InnoGrit Corporation says the price of producing solid state drives will drop, leading to a general shift away from the traditional hard drive. Because SSDs require less electricity, this could also increase battery life in mobile devices and improve performance across the board.

For this to happen, though, current 3D V-NAND flash memory chips need to become more affordable and the PCIe interface needs to be adopted as the new standard. Once these things happen, we will likely see a major shift in the way that SSDs are used.

Final Thoughts

The future of SSD storage is looking bright. With recent advancements in technology, SSDs are becoming more reliable, more efficient, and more affordable. As the prices of these devices continue to fall and the technology continues to improve, SSDs are poised to take over the storage market in the years to come.