Hyperstone Reveals A2 SATA 2.6 SSD Controller

Based in Konstanz, Germany, Hyperstone GmbH introduces their new A2 family of SSD Flash Memory Controllers.

Targeting applications such as 2.5" Serial-ATA SSDs, 1.8" SATA Slim SSDs (MO-297), mini-SATA modules (MO-300), CFast Cards (CFC) as well as embedded Flash, the A2 controller together with firmware provide reliability, endurance, and fail-safe features for all SLC- and MLC-based NAND Flash memory solutions.

This new family has emerged from the previously announced cooperation between Hyperstone and Toshiba Electronics Europe (TEE) regarding design, intellectual property, foundry and manufacturing services.

Product Highlights:

• Compliant to SATA 2.6 and CFast 1.0 specifications
• Hyperstone patented firmware architecture without need for external DRAM
• Up to 150 MB/s sustained read performance
• Up to 130 MB/s sustained write performance
• Up to 600 4K random write IOPS
• Host data transfer rate of up to 300 MB/s
• Native Command Queuing (NCQ)
• Power down detection for increased power cycling robustness
• Typical active current consumption at 25°C with 100% utilization during stress test operating 4 x 3.3V NAND Flashes of about 250mA
• SATA partial/slumber (about 150mA) and CFast PHYSLP (about 5mA) power modes supported
• Qualified to industrial temperature range

"Our new A2 SATA controller is designed to deliver the highest level of quality and reliability to all SATA SSD solutions. As NAND flashes are advanced with mainly cost reductions in mind, maintaining a certain level of endurance is becoming more and more challenging," said Axel Mehnert, VP Marketing of Hyperstone. "Our mission is enabling future NAND flashes, fit for use even within industrial, ruggedized applications. Partnering with Toshiba has enabled us to use advanced production processes and deliver high quality semiconductor products while focusing on firmware and system design at the same time."

"Our A2 available in a 9x9x1.2mm TFBGA 201 is probably the smallest and most power efficient 4-channel SATA controller in the market," said Mark Gunyuzlu, President of Hyperstone Inc. USA. "We can now provide SATA performance, industrial reliability and ruggedness for smaller form factor systems without requiring any volatile memory prone to power fail issues. We also expect we are delivering the best possible random read/write performance without relying on a DRAM, which is ideal for embedded applications."