KIOXIA America Debuts UFS Ver. 3.1 Embedded Flash Memory Devices

KIOXIA (formerly Toshiba) announced that it has started sampling Universal Flash Storage (UFS) Ver. 3.1 embedded flash memory devices. Well suited for mobile applications requiring high-performance with low power consumption, the new lineup utilizes KIOXIA's cutting-edge BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory and is supported in four capacities: 128 gigabytes (GB), 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 terabyte (TB).

The new devices integrate BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory and a controller in a JEDEC-standard 11.5 x 13 mm package. The controller performs error correction, wear leveling, logical-to-physical address translation, and bad-block management for simplified system development. "KIOXIA was the first company to introduce UFS in 2013[4] and the first to offer UFS Ver. 3.0 last year and we continue to be at the forefront of UFS memory with this Ver. 3.1 announcement today," noted Scott Beekman, director of managed flash memory products for KIOXIA America, Inc. "Our newest offerings enable next-gen mobile devices to take full advantage of the connectivity benefits of 5G, leading to faster downloads and reduced lag time - and an improved user experience."

All four devices include the following features:

• WriteBooster: Enables significantly faster write speeds (more than 2-3X the speed of Ver. 3.0)
• Sequential Read Performance: Improved by approximately 30% over existing Ver. 3.0.
• Host Performance Booster (HPB) Ver. 1.0 (defined as an extension specification): Improves random read performance by utilizing the host side memory.
• UFS-DeepSleep Power Mode: Achieves power consumption reduction in sleep mode compared to UFS-Sleep Power Mode.
• Performance Throttling Event Notification: UFS may throttle performance, if the internal temperature reaches its upper limit, to avoid overheating and damage to the internal device circuits.