JEDEC's subcommittee for Solid State Drives will target the
development of standards for SSDs in applications beyond conventional disk drive form factors, following the growing demand for smaller consumer electronic devices.
As a developer of standards for the microelectronics industry, JEDEC
is encouraging interested companies to become involved with SSD
standards development.
"Momentum for adoption of embedded SSDs continues to grow and with
the right OEM support, Gartner believes that embedded SSDs could
potentially out ship traditional SSD form factor usage in mobile PCs
by 20131," according to Joseph Unsworth, Research Director at
Gartner.
To answer the data storage market's demand for faster, more energy
efficient solutions in a smaller footprint, the use of SSDs in
alternative form factors may provide an answer for product design
engineers. SSDs in module and/or package form offer the ability to
meet the demand for a smaller form factor, z-height advantages, as
well as potential cost savings over traditional hard drive form
factors. However, in order to fulfill this potential, widely adopted
industry standards are seen as essential tools to reduce market
confusion, facilitate broad adoption and alleviate product quality
and reliability concerns.
"Deploying the first generation of SSDs in disk drive form factors
leveraged the existing ecosystem and helped ensure supply chain
flexibility," said Mian Quddus, JEDEC Board of Directors Chairman. He
added, "But with tablet PCs and ultra-thin portable notebooks
emerging in Client as well as high-density Enterprise systems, there
is a growing demand for SSDs in smaller form factors and an urgent
need for related industry standards. I strongly urge all interested
companies to participate in the development of solid state drive
standards within JEDEC."