Following up on Micron's UFS 2.1 announcement, Phison has announced the launch of their own PS8311 UFS 2.1 controller:

For those unaware, UFS 2.1 is a much-anticipated replacement for eMMC, which is the equivalent of trying to run your laptop OS off of an SD Card. Fortunately, eMMC only appears in budget systems, but the transition to UFS 2.1 should bring the storage performance bar up considerably in those systems.

UFS Architecture Overview. Source: JEDEC

Devices following the Universal Flash Storage standard will enable less protocol overhead and more direct communication with the flash.

Looking at an older roadmap, we see Phison was relatively on target with the PS8311, with a faster PS8313 scheduled for later in 2017.

Press blast after the break.

Phison Electronics Corp., a world-leading NAND controller IC provider and member of UFSA Board of Directors, introduces its new PS8311 UFS 2.1 controller. PS8311 delivers superior performance and user experience through an upgrade in hardware and firmware architectures over the traditional eMMC design. The new solution supports the latest emerging 3D TLCs from different NAND manufacturers, addressing increasing storage capacity demands from the mobile market. The PS8311 UFS controller has been qualified with major UFS mobile chipsets and is scheduled for Q1 2017 production.

UFS, or Universal Flash Storage, is a standard aimed to replace eMMC in mobile phones and SD cards in memory card applications. The latest UFS 2.1 specification is equipped with much higher data rates and a differential-signaling serial interface compared to eMMC 5.1 which is capped at 400MB/s interface. UFS 2.1 also allows for full-duplex operation and command queuing. PS8311 is the first in a series of Phison UFS controllers, enabling 1-lane throughput that is 30% faster than eMMC in sequential reads. Additionally, PS8311’s 28,500 random read and 26,500 random write IOPS performances are phenomenally 2 to 3 times higher than the fastest eMMC solutions today, perfect for multitasking smartphone users.

The PS8311 UFS controller is equipped with state-of-the-art StrongECC technology, a super compact and low-power ECC engine designed for the latest in 3D TLC NAND memory. This ECC technology saves 70% of power consumption over legacy BCH ECC engines and has a 30% higher decoding capability. StrongECC on PS8311 makes it possible for 3D TLC NAND to reach the embedded memory endurance requirements and reduces time to market. Targeted for higher densities, PS8311 can support a maximum of 8 NAND dice, enabling UFS solutions with capacities ranging from 16GB to 256GB based on 2D and 3D TLC. Additionally, Phison is developing a new 2-lane solution targeting 512GB and 1TB capacities by the end of 2017.

Phison’s new PS8311 controller features:

  • UFS 2.1 compliant, High-Speed Gear 3, single lane throughput
  • CoXProcessor architecture, inherited from PCIe, for NAND operation management resulting in lower system latency and higher random performance
  • Innovative in-house M-PHY (High-Speed Gear 3, 2-lane), UniPro and UFS IP
  • StrongECC technology with both Hard Bit & Soft Bit enhanced decisions
  • Maximum 3D TLC Sequential Read/Write – 410/235MB/s
  • Maximum 3D TLC 4K Random Read/Write – 28.5K/26.5K IOPS

“Phison is already a top controller supplier for eMMC and eMCP, the main storage component in mobile handsets, but we don’t just stop there”, said Phison CEO and co-founder K.S. Pua. “As the UFS standard is taking off in the high-end segment, we have put in our best engineering efforts to develop a cost-effective, high performance controller in parallel with Phison’s latest PCIe SSD architecture, grasping the high density 3D TLC trend that is quickly becoming the mainstream NAND output.”

While the world is preparing to embrace the 5G era, the Phison PS8311 UFS controller drives the next generation in mobile storage. With superior performance over eMMC, it eliminates speed and latency bottlenecks to enable an ultra-smooth experience in applications such as virtual reality or 4K video. Using advanced packaging techniques, PS8311 can be easily adopted into several form factors such as the UFS Card, discrete BGA, or UFS-based multichip packages with low-power DRAM (uMCPs) for various mobile applications.

About Phison:

Phison Electronics Corp. is a global leader in NAND Flash controller IC and storage solutions. In 2000, Phison developed world’s first single-chip USB flash drive controller. For 16 years, Phison created of a wide range of innovative solutions over SSD (PCIe/SATA/PATA), eMMC, UFS, SD and USB interfaces, shipping over 600 million IC units annually. Adding value to customers, Phison also provides system integration and total solution services across consumer, industrial and enterprise markets. An active participant in industry standards, Phison is on the Board of Directors for SDA, ONFI, UFSA and a contributor for JEDEC, PCI-SIG, MIPI, NVMe and IEEE-SA. In this release, the terms “company” and “Phison” refer to Phison Electronics Corporation. To learn more about our technical breakthrough in NAND solutions, please visit http://www.phison.com or contact sales@phison.com.