NplusT’s technology was recently featured in a research publication and played a critical role in enabling precise data collection and testing. Using NanoCycler as core tool for acquiring real-device data during the entire NAND life cycle, Luo Zheng’s dissertation, titled “Research and Development of Efficient Testing Technology for Ultra-large Capacity 3D Flash Memory”, delves into enhancing the reliability and lifespan of 3D NAND flash memory.
Written under the guidance of Prof. Han Guojun at the Department of Electronic Information, Guangdong University of Technology, in Guangzhou, China, the research focuses on developing machine learning models to accurately predict flash memory lifespan. The work aims to optimize storage system performance by reducing the impact of noise on lifespan prediction accuracy.
The NplusT team extends their congratulations to Luo Zheng for earning the degree of Master of Electronic Information.
A leading European semiconductor manufacturer has chosen NplusT’s TESTMESH TMA-100 for the characterization of new emerging non-volatile technology devices. The decision was based on the significant speed advantage that TMA-100 offers, being several hundred times faster than competitive solutions.
NplusT – as gold sponsor of the event – will exhibit the TESTMESH non-volatile memory test system, aiming to accelerate the bring-up of novel technologies for data storage and in-memory neuromorphic computing.
Technology researchers and product developers benefit from a compact, all-in-one instrument, embedding all resources necessary for the characterization. They can focus on the analysis rather than spending time and effort for the integration of a complex test bench. TESTMESH’s speed-optimized architecture and the engineering-oriented software accelerates their process to obtain reliable results.
As a tradition spanning more than a decade, NplusT assigned the MOCCA award also in 2023, honoring the user of NplusT products and services demonstrating the highest creativity, imagination, and dedication.
This year, the award was granted to the team of Weebit Nano, a provider of ReRAM non-volatile memory (NVM) technology, for their introduction of the TESTMESH TMA-100 NVM characterization equipment in their workflow. The Weebit team includes: Ori Livne, Director of Testing; Alessandro Bricalli PhD, R&D Engineer; Giuseppe Piccolboni PhD, R&D Engineer; and Matan Guttman, Test Engineer.
Tamás Kerekes, President and CEO of NplusT:
I have been following Weebit Nano since their very early days and I was impressed by how quickly the team was able to bring up a very new, extremely challenging technology. I am happy to support the company on their path to success. Weebit Nano is among the first users of our latest non-volatile memory characterization equipment, TESTMESH TMA-100, and certainly the first to apply it across multiple stages of technology development, from basic test devices to complex modules with embedded micro and digital interface. I am looking forward to continuing being part of Weebit Nano’s technology evaluation process.
Ilan Sever, VP of R&D, of Weebit Nano:
When developing a new memory technology like Weebit ReRAM, selecting the best testing and characterization solutions is a priority. We are delighted to partner with the team at NplusT, making its TESTMESH TMA-100 a key part of our flow. Together we designed the software, load boards and probe cards, going deep into every technical aspect. At Weebit Nano, our products often have distinct working methodologies, and the TMA-100 easily accommodates these different procedures. This includes for example the ability to easily collaborate on the same platform with our R&D partner CEA-Leti. Across our developments, the TMA-100 has saved us a lot of time and effort through product flexibility, the ability to reuse past developments, and the close support we receive from NplusT.
Weebit’s Ori Livne (left) and Matan Guttman (right) with the TESTMESH TMA-100
NplusT is proud to announce the general availability of NanoCycler HS24, an upgraded version of the HS20. Using HS24, our partners are able to characterize the array performance, power consumption and interface timing of every NAND device at its highest operational speed, with full coverage of the ONFi 5.0 specification. HS24 is available for BGA132, BGA152 and BGA154 packages.
HS24 maintains all advanced features of the NanoCycler family: characterization in the full range of speed-temperature-voltage conditions, at extreme accuracy and flexibility. HS24 is software compatible with the HS16 and HS20 product versions.
NplusT has released NanoCycler HS20 for BGA132, BGA152, and BGA154 configurations, the fastest and most feature-rich NAND characterization tester today, supporting 2.0 GT/sec NAND interface speed.
The company forecasts to come out with a further upgrade later this year, to reach 2.4GT/sec.
NplusT announces it has been granted a new patent entitled “Sistema per la caratterizzazione di memorie non volatili” (“Non-volatile Memories Characterization System”).
The patented technology expands upon the company’s intellectual property rights relating to non-volatile memory testing and characterization and has been successfully integrated into the NanoCycler test system.
Thanks to its proprietary architecture, NanoCycler proves to be the leading solution for the industry’s most demanding NAND characterization needs, providing outstanding scalability (from single-socket development station until multiples of 84-socket racks), full, per-package independency for test execution and temperature control, cutting edge performance with data transfer up to 2.0GT/sec (2.4GT/sec coming soon) and an overall unmatched feature-rich hardware and software solution; to help SSD developers to increase lifetime and reliability of their products.
The MOCCA 2021 has been assigned to the TenaFe NAND Characterization Team, lead by Curry Zhang & Sean Huang.
NplusT grants MOCCA (MOst Creative Customer Award) to users of NplusT products and services who leverage the most of the features and performance of such products making use of innovative approaches.
Tamas Kerekes, President and CEO of NplusT: “I am really happy to see the level of understanding of the NAND, what Tenafe reached using NanoCycler. Curry with his team have developed a powerful infrastructure on top of the API provided with NanoCycler, and are using it efficiently to generate the necessary data and knowledge. This is the first time that MOCCA goes to China – I am extremely pleased about that, as I see a very fast evolution in technology and knowledge. The Chinese storage industry is evolving very fast, it is one of our strategic market targets: today we have several users of our products and technologies in China.
Curry Zhang, Senior Validation Manager of TenaFe: “We’ve used NplusT NanoCycler for over 2 years, with the main purpose of NAND characterization, collecting data for our media management algorithm. As an SSD controller company, we need to adopt NAND from different vendors. Although we have our own controller and silicon, NanoCycler is still very helpful as a 3rd party tool. We use it frequently, every month, almost every week, for these reasons:
It has powerful NAND command API: we can development testsuites on top of; and it is flexible enough to support all kinds of NAND. When we get a new NAND, we only need 1 or 2 days to bring it up on NanoCycler, then we can start collecting the data we want;
It is very stable, we usually run it for weeks;
It has its own temperature control system, which is very impressive: we can easily and automatically control NAND temperature as whatever we want, for example erase and program in 30°C, read in 70°C, and we don’t even need to have a chamber to do so;
Within the last 2 years, we finished NAND characterization of more than 8 different NAND types from various vendors;
Last thing and most importantly, engineers of NplusT are nice and professional: we communicated a lot and they always gave us quick responses and an efficient support.”
NplusT hosted a webinar titles “Why is Your SSD Not Working?” on the complexity and issues of NAND characterization.
The webinar was held on March 19, 2022 and was attended by over 250 industry experts.
NplusT released the latest member of the NanoCycler family, the HS20 BGA152. This tester is the first on the market reaching the 2,000 MT/sec data exchange rate between tester and NAND devices.
“SSD performance is increasing tremendously and NAND vendors are keeping pace. SSD makers need to characterize the NAND in conditions as much similar as possible like the NAND will work in the final application, including interface speed. Reaching the 2.0GT/sec transfer rate is an important milestone of our roadmap, ensuring our customers to apply solid, proven solutions in the right time. We are continuing our development and we plan to release further enhancements reflecting the ONFI 5 standard like the BGA154 package support, the new LP-NVDDR4 protocol and also reaching 2.4 GT/sec and beyond” – said Tamas Kerekes, President and CEO of NplusT.
