News Article
ONFI accelerates time-to-market for NAND-based products
The Open NAND Flash Interface (ONFI) Working Group, an organization dedicated to simplifying integration of NAND Flash memory into consumer electronics (CE) devices, computing platforms and industrial systems, has announced the availability of the ONFI 1.0 specification. The chip-level standard interface simplifies Flash controller design, which facilitates the integration of a wide range of NAND Flash components into diverse end-use applications.
The Open NAND Flash Interface (ONFI) Working Group, an organization dedicated to simplifying integration of NAND Flash memory into consumer electronics (CE) devices, computing platforms and industrial systems, has announced the availability of the ONFI 1.0 specification. The chip-level standard interface simplifies Flash controller design, which facilitates the integration of a wide range of NAND Flash components into diverse end-use applications. "The ONFI 1.0 specification is thought to be the first industry standard for the chip-level NAND Flash interface," said Knut Grimsrud, ONFI Chairman and Intel Fellow. "Delivering the ratified specification just three quarters after the formation of the group is an exceptional accomplishment by the team. Building on this success, the ONFI group is already pursuing next generation development efforts to help enable Flash in additional applications and market segments." ONFI 1.0 is a comprehensive specification that defines NAND device behaviour, such as command and register sets, pin-out, electrical parameters and packaging. In addition, the specification provides the NAND Flash with the ability to identify itself and provide key characteristics such as memory layout, timing support, and enhanced features to the controller, via a standardized protocol. This self-describe capability expands the range of NAND Flash components that the application can efficiently accommodate. This also enables support for new Flash components with minimal software changes, thus shortening qualification cycles and improving time-to-market (TTM) for original design manufacturers (ODMs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). ONFI RoadmapWith the completion of the 1.0 specification, the technical workgroups within ONFI take the next step in the organization's technical roadmap. ONFI will now focus on substantially increasing the Flash interface transfer rate to improve overall system-level performance. The group will also continue to simplify host controller design by providing a block abstraction capability – enabling the use of an even wider range of NAND Flash components in many applications. Lastly, ONFI will define a Flash module, including a tailored module connector which will enable an industry standard, pluggable NAND module similar to a DRAM module used in computing platforms today. This next generation specification is scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2007. "An increase in transfer rate in the next ONFI specification will be required to enable next generation consumer and industrial storage applications," said Lane Mason, memory market analyst for Denali. "With many of the industry-leading companies involved, ONFI will help manufacturers integrate next generation NAND Flash into future products to enhance performance, functionality and time-to-market."
