Silicon Motion Introduces New UFS Controller Family for Mobile Phones

Silicon Motion Technology has announced the launch of its new UFS (Universal Flash Storage) 2.1 controller family, a complete product line supporting UFS HS-Gear3x1L and HS-Gear3x2L, enabling high-performance, high capacity and low power embedded memory for mobile phones.

Designed with Silicon Motion's proprietary MIPI M-PHY, low-power architecture and advanced LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) ECC for 3D NAND support, the UFS 2.1 controller family delivers ultra-high random read/write performance of up to 50,000/40,000 IOPS, capacity up to 512GB and ultra-low power consumption for flagship and mainstream smartphones, the company indicated.

UFS is the latest generation embedded memory standard for mobile applications defined by JEDEC. The UFS standard features a serial link-based MIPI M-PHY interface and SCSI architecture model (SAM) which enables high-performance, energy-efficient and high-capacity embedded storage, which is critical for the multitasking and multimedia requirements of today's smartphones. Silicon Motion claimed its newest UFS 2.1 controller family provides more than three times faster sequential and random read/write performance as compared to the eMMC 5.1 controllers.

"Our UFS 2.1 controller family extends our eMMC leadership in mobile devices to today's flagship and premium models," said Wallace Kou, president and CEO of Silicon Motion, in a statement. "Our unique turnkey UFS solution will usher in a new generation of cost-effective and high-performance embedded memory solutions, just as more application processor platforms roll-out support and more handset OEMs adopt UFS in mainstream devices."

Also in the same statement, Walter Coon, director for NAND flash technology research at IHS Markit, noted "UFS is expected to be the dominant flash specification within the next five years, supplanting eMMC. The performance advantages of UFS over eMMC are most notable at high NAND densities, i.e. 128GB & 256GB."

"High-performance multimedia capabilities are a cornerstone for mobile devices today and the addition of 4K and AR/VR capabilities will require more robust and higher capacity UFS embedded memory solutions for the majority of smartphones," Coon continued.

The Silicon Motion UFS 2.1 family is currently sampling to select NAND OEM partners, and production ramp is expected later in 2017, according to the company.

For additional Silicon Motion product information or technical support, contact Symmetry Electronics, an authorized distributor of industry leading wireless, audio/video and embedded chips, modules and dev/eval tools (877) 466-9722.