When High Reliability SLC NAND Flash becomes less reliable

If you are developing a high reliability embedded application then all you need to do is to choose a NAND Flash Device built with SLC (Single Level Cell) NAND Flash, right? And all SLC NAND Flash devices have pretty much the same Read/Write reliability right?

Whilst this might have been true in the past, now the SLC game has changed and Flash Storage Vendors are offering SLC devices built from varying geometries of SLC Flash, ranging from the largest (43nm) down to the current smallest (24nm).

Smaller Geometry SLC Flash is normally bundled with firmware containing higher Error Correction (ECC) capability, but is that enough to make the small geometry SLC Flash devices as reliable as their larger geometry counterparts? What sort of endurance will you get in your application if your system is built around a 24nm product with high ECC compared to a 43nm product with lower ECC?

Cactus Technologies have run extensive testing on their range of 43nm, 32nm and 24nm SLC Storage devices and are happy to share their findings with you.

To request a full copy of the SLC NAND Long Term Endurance Test Report, please click here.