FLARE: A design environment for FLASH-based space applications

Abstract

Designing a mass-memory device (i.e., a solid-state recorder) is one of the typical issues of mission-critical space system applications. Flash-memories could be used for this goal: a huge number of parameters and trade-offs need to be explored. Flash-memories are nonvolatile, shock-resistant and powereconomic, but in turn have different drawback: e.g., their cost is higher than normal hard disk and the number of erasure cycles is bounded. Moreover space environment presents various issues especially because of radiations: different and quite often contrasting dimensions need to be explored during the design of a flash-memory based solid-state recorder. No systematic approach has so far been proposed to consider them all as a whole: as a consequence a novel design environment currently under development is aimed at supporting the design of flashbased mass-memory device for space applications.

Flash Memory Technology for Space Application - An Approach

“…Hence, proper counter measures are needed to improve the dependability of the whole system. Designing flash memory based systems for space application requires exploring number of design dimensions to enhance reliability [5]. In recent time, use of flash memory in space systems is reported [1].…”

“…Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem (BCH), Low Density Parity Check (LDPC), and so on may be a suitable choice [1]. Reed-Solomon codes were also indicated in the literatures [5]. Choosing the most suitable ECC for a specific mission is always a trade-off among design parameters.…”

EDACs and test integration strategies for NAND flash memories

“…Binary Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghen (BCH) codes [1], [10], [16] are a well known correcting code technique for NAND flash-memories. [6] presents a brief overview of these codes and proposes a novel design environment aimed at supporting the design of BCH codes with a user-selectable error correction capability for NAND flash-memories: moreover it is under-integration with our FLARE design environment [4].…”

Automated synthesis of EDACs for FLASH memories with user-selectable correction capability

“…The project is mainly pushed by the unavailability, at our best knowledge, of a commercial tool capable of supporting a systematic analysis and exploration of the different possible alternatives with the chance of exploiting the advantages of a user-selectable error correction capability. Moreover this project is intended to be integrated with our FLARE design environment [5].…”