Flash Memory Module Research Articles

THE ENHANCEMENTS IN STORAGE CAPACITY AND LONG-TERM DATA RETENTION OF MULTIDIMENSIONAL FLASH MEMORY IN MODERN MICROCIRCUIT APPLICATIONS

Generally, flash memory is a type of permanent memory for computers in which the contents can be reprocessed or erased electronically. Compared to programmable read-only memory that can erase electricity, operations on it can be performed on modules located in different locations. Flash memory is much less expensive than EEPROM, which is why it has become a dominant technology. Especially, in situations, this stable and long-term data retention is required. Its use is allowed in various cases like digital audio players, photo and video cameras, mobile phones and smartphones, and specialized Android applications on the memory card. Additionally, it is also used on USB flash drives, traditionally used to store and transfer information between computers. The proposed model provides enhancements to the storage capacity of various flash memory modules. In a saturation point, the proposed model achieved 93.03% of NOR Memory management, 89.31% of NAND Memory management, 94.25% of Ferroelectric RAM Memory management, and 94.53% of Magnetic RAM Memory management, 96.05% of Ovonic Unified Memory management and 96.16% of Salcogenide RAM Memory management.

Flash-Based Security Primitives: Evolution, Challenges and Future Directions

Over the last two decades, hardware security has gained increasing attention in academia and industry. Flash memory has been given a spotlight in recent years, with the question of whether or not it can prove useful in a security role. Because of inherent process variation in the characteristics of flash memory modules, they can provide a unique fingerprint for a device and have thus been proposed as locations for hardware security primitives. These primitives include physical unclonable functions (PUFs), true random number generators (TRNGs), and integrated circuit (IC) counterfeit detection. In this paper, we evaluate the efficacy of flash memory-based security primitives and categorize them based on the process variations they exploit, as well as other features. We also compare and evaluate flash-based security primitives in order to identify drawbacks and essential design considerations. Finally, we describe new directions, challenges of research, and possible security vulnerabilities for flash-based security primitives that we believe would benefit from further exploration.

Fire Damage and Repair Techniques for Flash Memory Modules: Implication for Post-Crash Investigations

Abstract As part of the investigation of accidents in mass transit, air travel in particular, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) retrieves electronic devices from the crash scene. Analysis of flash memory recovered from these devices can provide clues as to the events leading to the crash. Unfortunately, the flash memory is often damaged and unreadable. This study was undertaken in order to address two issues: (1) how much damage the device can sustain before it becomes completely unreadable, (2) what repair techniques can be employed in order to retrieve information from damaged memory units. The effect of thermal damage was investigated by subjecting flash memory modules to high temperature for three hours. Memory modules were found to be readable after exposure of up to 300°C for three hours. Small fissures evident in the overmold indicated thermal damage to the plastic, yet the chip retained the stored information. Above 300°C the plastic was completely consumed, leaving only the chip and wire bonds. Repair techniques were investigated by decapsulating the module, then purposely breaking the interconnecting wire bonds. The broken wire bonds were reconnected with metallic ink deposited by a precision printer. After the repairs, the modules were read with no errors, indicating a successful repair. Several methods of decapsulation were tested: acid etch, laser etch, plasma etch, and mechanical polish. Data integrity was retained through each of these decapsulation techniques, except for the acid etch. Plasma etch was not an effective method of decapsulation due to the low etch rate. Mechanical polish proved to be the simplest decapsulation technique. Bonded interconnect wires were first exposed by a grind/polish of the memory module surface. These wires were then “broken” by over polishing the sample. After confirming that the module could not be read, a repair was completed by printing the connections directly on the polished surface of the module. Subsequent re-reading of the stored data confirmed a successful repair. Of the decapsulation techniques employed, the most effective was laser etch. This method allowed targeted overmold removal at a specific location without disturbing the majority of the packaging - a desirable feature when relatively few circuit lines need to be repaired.

Design of Industrial LCD Terminal System for Intelligent Image Display

This article discusses that the design technique of LCD terminal system for intelligent image display based on an 89C51 microcontroller. The system includes both hardware and software parts. Hardware part consists of liquid crystal display module, flash memory module and serial communication module; software part includes liquid crystal display programming, reading/writing programming of memory chip, serial communication programming, and host computer software

Distributed vertical line array receiver.

A distributed vertical line array (DVLA) receiver able to span the water column in water up to 6000 m deep has been developed to allow both modal and ray-based analyzes of acoustic propagation. The DVLA is made up of distributed, self-recording hydrophones with timing and scheduling provided by a small number of central controllers, called D-STARs. The enabling technologies for this approach are (i) flash memory modules that can store gigabytes of data in a small pressure case at each hydrophone and (ii) inductive modems that allow low-bandwidth communication between the D-STAR controllers and the hydrophone modules over standard oceanographic mooring wire for control and time synchronization. The DVLA consists of sub-arrays with a nominal length of 1000 m. The hydrophone modules are clamped to the mooring wire during deployment, making the DVLA readily configurable. It is navigated using acoustic transponders on the seafloor. The hydrophone modules make precision temperature measurements to provide the sound-speed profiles needed for beamforming. A DVLA consisting of two 1000-m sub-arrays, one spanning the sound-channel axis and the other spanning the surface conjugate depth, was successfully deployed in the Philippine Sea for 1 month during spring 2009. [Work supported by the Office of Naval Research.]

Multi-objective optimization of laser cutting for flash memory modules with special shapes using grey relational analysis

This paper presents a novel effective method for optimizing laser cutting of specially shaped electronic printed circuit board (PCB) carrier substrates of advanced integrated circuit (IC) back-end packages that have multiple performance characteristics identified using grey relational analysis (GRA). Laser cutting parameters, including laser beam parameters (average laser power and Q-switch frequency), focusing parameters (laser beam focusing spot size), and machine parameters (laser cutting speed), were optimized based on multiple performance characteristics. Some characteristics of the specially shaped flash memory module for IC packages, such as smart disk (SD) cards are verified. The characteristics of interest are the average surface roughness on a PCB substrate cross-section, and the maximum width of the heat-affected zone (HAZ). Eight experiments were conducted using GRA to optimize the settings for laser beam cutting parameters to generate various quality characteristics. Analysis of the grey relational grade indicates that parameter significance and the optimal parameter combination for the laser cutting process are identified. The analytical results from two confirmation experiments using the optimal parameters confirm that laser cutting technology can be effectively applied to cut substrates into special shapes.

Hybrid intelligent vision-based car-like vehicle backing systems design

This paper is integrated with discrete wavelet transformation (DWT), self-organizing map (SOM) neural network and fuzzy logic control methods to approach the intelligent vision-based car-like vehicle backing system. All the presented procedures are implemented as software simulations and are synthesized as hardware to describe their superiorities in our experimental platform. In a word, this study has been implemented as a car-like vehicle consists of a field programmable gate array (FPGA) chip, a CMOS image sensor, a microprocessor, a flash memory module, and servo motors. From our experimental results, this paper not only illustrates the results with computer simulation, but also demonstrates the practical car parking achievements in a real environment.

A new NAND-type flash memory package with smart buffer system for spatial and temporal localities

Abstract This research is to design a high performance NAND-type flash memory package with a smart buffer cache that enhances the exploitation of spatial and temporal locality. The proposed buffer structure in a NAND flash memory package, called as a smart buffer cache, consists of three parts, i.e., a fully-associative victim buffer with a small page size, a fully-associative spatial buffer with a large page size, and a dynamic fetching unit. This new NAND-type flash memory package can achieve dramatically higher performance and lower power consumption compared with any conventional NAND-type flash memory module. Our results show that the NAND flash memory package with a smart buffer cache can reduce the miss ratio by around 70% and the average memory access time by around 67%, over the conventional NAND flash memory configuration. Also, the average miss ratio and the average memory access time of the package module with smart buffer cache for a given buffer space (e.g., 3 KB) can achieve better performance than package modules with a conventional direct-mapped buffer with eight times (e.g., 32 KB) or than a fully-associative configuration with twice as much space (e.g., 8 KB).

MusicPad Pro and MusicPad Pro Plus (review)

MusicPad Pro(TM) and MusicPad Pro Plus(TM). Stand-alone digital music notation viewer, bundled with MusicPad Manager(TM) software. U.S. patent 6,483,019. FreeHand Systems, Inc., Los Altos, CA. $999 and $1,199 list price, http://www.freehandsystems.com. [System requirements: Ethernet or USB connection; monitor capable of displaying at 1024x768 pixels and 16-bit color; PC: Pentium II or higher running Windows 98 SE, ME, 2000, or XP; Macintosh: OS 9.1 (or higher) or OS X vlO.2 (or higher).] From digital recording and compact discs, to the Internet and computer-based music engraving programs, technological innovations developed during the last quarter of the twentieth century have rapidly transformed almost every area of music making and music studies. While the creation and distribution of notation has evolved, black dots and lines on paper are still the final product. Text documents have already emerged electronically (via PDAs, eBooks, etc.), and now music is beginning to catch up. Formed in 2001, FreeHand Systems, Inc. has focused on developing software and hardware for a dedicated digital notation viewer. FreeHand's cornerstone hardware product, the MusicPad Pro (MPP), a specialized PC tablet computer with touch screen, is intended to substitute for paper printouts of music. A related product, eStand, Inc's eStand(TM) (in many ways a very different product and at a higher price), was reviewed previously in this column (Notes 60, no. 3 [March 2004]: 754-56). That review discussed many general issues regarding electronic music viewers; this review will focus on my three months of working with a MusicPad Pro Plus graciously provided by FreeHand Systems for this review. By the time this review is published an improved model with new features, options and improved screen resolution will replace the model detailed here, while FreeHand will also have released additional new models in various sizes. I had the opportunity to work with one of the units shipping through the first half of 2004. Measuring 13.3'' × 9.9'' × 1.8'', the unit is slightly bigger than a large-size Dover score. The black hard plastic case blends well with the music stand environment and is shaped to promote easy holding and carrying. The most significant difference between the standard MusicPad Pro ($999, weighing just under five pounds) and the Plus model ($1,199, weighing just under six pounds) is the addition of a built-in rechargeable battery. To help protect the touch screen a padded carrying case is desirable, even if the MPP is only traveling from building to building. Several custom designed cases are available from FreeHand's Web store, but many padded laptop or tablet computer cases should work. While it is possible to place the MusicPad Pro on a traditional concert music stand, the weight may cause poorly maintained stands to tip. A specialized clip might help secure the MPP, but FreeHand's optional MusicPad Stand (resembling a modified microphone boom stand) is sturdier and more reliable (the MPP is designed to attach to this stand). While users may be tempted to hold the MPP in rehearsal and performance, I found it a bit heavy. Although FreeHand reports that some choirs are using the current unit without stands, I would suggest looking at a soon-to-be-released smaller and lighter unit for most choirs. With only a power button on the front, almost all interactions with the MPP take place on the touch screen. The back of the unit includes connections for power (the external adapter is in the middle of the cord rather than as a space-wasting wall wart), video-out (for connection to data projectors), a page-turn pedal (sold separately), and two USB ports (one for a computer connections and the other for flash memory modules). Future models will include an audio-out port. The hardware ships with cross-platform MusicPad Manager software used to import/convert files into the necessary FreeHand Systems format (FH files) on a regular computer desktop. …

Integrating handheld PCs into a PACS network with commercially available components.

A palm computer with a 160 x 160-pixel display and 16-bit color depth can display useable images if the viewing software supports a larger image file size and zooming functions. Flash memory modules are now available. Storage of large image files is no longer a problem.