Date: 26/06/2009

SAMSUNG develops SATA SSD in mini-card size for netbook computers

Flash memory based SSD vendor Samsung Electronics is sampling a SATA-interface mini-card solid-state drive (SSD) to some of its customers, for use in netbook type computers.

"The market is beginning to embrace a smaller SSD for the nascent netbook sector," said Jim Elliott, vice president, memory marketing, Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. "The cost-efficiency and reliability of lower-density, highly compact Samsung SSDs are perfectly suited as the storage medium for the rapidly growing netbook marketplace," he added.

With a mini-PCI Express (PCIe) form factor and a SATA 3.0Gb/s interface, the mini-card SSD is nearly 80 percent smaller than the conventional 2.5-inch hard disk drive. This drive is also suggested as secondary storage in PCs, and in printers and other various handheld portable electronic computing gadgets.

Samsung suggests the SATA mini-card SSD form factor can be used in a combination comprised of the SSD as main memory and HDD as supporting storage space. This new approach is expected to increase the adoption of SSDs in a broader range of applications.

Samsung is working to standardize the new mechanical form factor and its pin layout specifications at JEDEC (Joint Electron Device Engineering Council). With possible revisions by OEM manufacturers, standardization could be expected as early as the third quarter of this year.

Available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB densities, the new SSD drive will be produced using 40-nanometer-class process technology. The SATA mini-card SSD provides strong performance levels with a sequential read rate of 200MB/s (megabytes per second) and writes data sequentially at 100MB/s.

Samsung's mini-card SSD measures 30 millimeters (mm) wide and 51mm high. The drive weighs up to 8.5g and measures up to 3.75 millimeters thick. Due to the inherent capability of low power and zero noise of flash memory chips used in this SSD, the new drive consumes only 0.3 watts of power and produces no-noise.

Samsung's new netbook-targeted SSD is available with optional full disk encryption to thwart theft or any unwanted access to a netbook or other device.