Samsung's MLC-Based
128GB in Volume Production

Offers High-Performance, Cost-Effective, Low-Power 65nm Application Processors for the PND Market

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, announced today that it has begun mass producing 1.8- and 2.5-inch multi-level cell (MLC)-based solid state drives (SSD) with a 128 Gigabyte (GB) storage capacity. Mass production of the Samsung MLC-based 64GB SSD also began this month.
"With the 64 GB and 128 GB MLC SSDs, we are satisfying the density requirements of most business users and many PC enthusiasts, who will appreciate not only the performance gains and added reliability, but also the more attractive pricing," said Jim Elliott, vice president, memory marketing, Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.
Samsung SSDs feature far greater reliability, faster boot times and faster application start-up times than hard disk drives. Power consumption for the Samsung SSD is exceptionally low in standby mode at approximately 0.2 watts and in active mode at 0.5 watts.
The Samsung MLC-based SSD has a write speed of 70MB/s and a read speed of 90MB/s - performance levels that approach those of single-level-cell (SLC)-based SSDs now in mass production. Moreover, the new 128GB SSD will last approximately 20 times longer than the generally accepted 4-5 year life span of a notebook PC hard drive.
Featuring a 3.0 gigabit-per-second interface, the 128GB MLC-based SSD consists of 64 MLC NAND flash memory chips of 16 gigabits each, optimized single-chip controller technology and advanced flash-management firmware technology. Enclosed in a brushed metallic casing, it measures 100mm x 69.8mm and is only 9.5mm thick.
Samsung is aggressively expanding its SSD market offerings. It introduced a 64GB SSD in the second half of 2007, and plans to begin producing a 256GB at the end of this year. Samsung's mass production of 128GB SSDs helps it to maintain its position as the leading producer of SSDs in the world, with capacities ranging from 32GB to the highest available today.
Samsung expects sales of SSD units to increase 800 percent between now and 2010, keeping SSDs on pace to be the largest growth segment in the NAND flash market over the next few years.

Newest members of its highly successful S3C24xx family of application processors
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world's leader in advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced the S3C2450 and the S3C2416, the newest members of its highly successful S3C24xx family of application processors. Designed and manufactured using 65nm process technology, the latest additions to Samsung's suite of application processors are built on an ARM9 core with speeds of up to 533MHz. As a leading provider of application processors, Samsung provides its customers with a high-performance, cost-effective, low-power chip solution for personal navigation devices (PNDs) as well as other mobile and embedded applications.
"As consumer demand for PNDs increase, there is a strong need for application processor solutions that provide the most cost effective platform," said Yiwan Wong, vice president of marketing Samsung Electronics' System LSI Division. "The S3C2450 and S3C2416 application processors, which are manufactured using Samsung's advanced 65nm technology, offer PND makers strong feature sets, low power consumption, and aggressive system-level BOM cost optimization."
PNDs require large data storage for maps and other location-based services such as real-time traffic reports. Samsung's new S3C2450 and S3C2416 application processors support a variety of memory products, including MLC and SLC flash; low-power Mobile SDRAM; DDR and DDR2; embedded flash solutions; and embedded memory cards such as moviNANDTM. The new processors also support features for enhancing the consumer experience such as 2D graphics for efficient graphics rendering. Samsung's S3C2450 and S3C2416 application processors support all major high level operating systems, including WinCE, Windows Mobile, and Linux£—.
By minimizing overall bill-of-material (BOM) costs and eliminating the need for costly external components, these powerful ARM9-based application processors empower designers to develop next-generation PNDs and mobile devices more cost effectively.
The power consumption level for these chips is significantly lowered through the implementation of power management modes and the use of 65nm process technology. The S3C2450 is available with 400/533MHz speed options while the S3C2416 features 266/400MHz speed options. The S3C2416 also is available in a low-cost 0.65mm pitch BGA for easier PCB routing.
Samsung's new application processors are now sampling with mass production slated for the third quarter of 2008. nw

Samsung Electronics mass produces MLC-based solid state drives (SSD) with a 128 GB storage capacity.