Date: 03/04/2016

JEDEC publishes JESD220-2 UFS Card Extension Standard

JEDEC Solid State Technology Association published JESD220-2 Universal Flash Storage (UFS) Card Extension Standard. The new removable memory card standardJESD220-2 can be downloaded at free of cost from the JEDEC website.

UFS is designed for battery-operated mobile computing platforms such as smart phones and tablet computers where throughput need to be high and power consumption need to be low. UFS also supports both embedded as well as removable flash memory storage. UFS uses M-PHY and UniPro for transport and SCSI command set, supporting both sequential as well random input output operations.
When it comes to throughput, a single lane UFS 1.0 card offers 600 MB/s interface speed in both directions and uses latest queuing mechanism to further increase system throughput.

The highlights of the new standards as shared by JEDEC includes:

Features of the UFS card are the same as those defined in the UFS 2.0 embedded device standard:
Based on the UFS 2.0 standard and compatible with the UFS HCI 2.0 standard
Supports MIPI M-PHY® HS-Gear3, HS-Gear2 (optional), and PWM-Gear1
A detailed mechanical definition is defined by the JEDEC MO-320 outline
Features common to embedded UFS 2.0 devices:
Support for multiple logical units, each with configurable characteristics
Reliable write and background operations
Secure operations such as purge and erase to enhance data security
Includes write protection options, including permanent and power-on write protection
Provides task management and power management functionality

To optimize for cost, complexity, and assist with rapid implementation of the new UFS 1.0 card standard, JEDEC Suggests product designers and engineers to note the following key areas of simplification from the embedded UFS 2.0 standard:
MIPI M-PHY single-lane operation
HW RESET signal not supported in UFS card
Ref_clock of 26Mhz and 19.2Mhz only
VCCQ supply eliminated
Boot capability not supported at this time

“JEDEC’s new UFS card standard offers many of the features and much of the same high-end functionality as the UFS embedded device standard, but in a convenient, removable card format that would be well suited for most mobile devices,” said Mian Quddus, Chairman of the JEDEC Board of Directors and the JC-64 Committee for Embedded Memory Storage and Removable Memory Cards. He added, “JC-64 is dedicated to fulfilling the storage requirements of the mobile industry by offering product designers a range of options to better meet their needs.”

“Embedded UFS has been proven to deliver the best performance and highest power efficiency of any storage in the mobile industry,” said Kenny Han, vice president, NAND product planning, Samsung Electronics. “It is only natural that this exemplary performance is being passed on to removable cards in extending the functionality of consumer mobile devices. The new UFS card standard will more than meet the needs of technologies that are the vanguard of the mobile industry today like 360-degree video and Drones with multiple 4K/8K recording cameras as well as smartphones which are beginning to evolve into intelligent hubs for IoT and mobile environments.”
Author: Srinivasa Reddy N
Author: Srinivasa Reddy N