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December 13, 2017

The Marvell NVMe DRAM-less SSD Controller Proves Victorious at the 2017 ACE Awards

By Sander Arts, Interim VP of Marketing, Marvell

ACE Awards logo Key representatives of the global technology sector were gathered together at the San Jose Convention Center last week to hear the recipients of this year’s Annual Creativity in Electronics (ACE) Awards announced. This prestigious awards event, which is organized in conjunction with leading electronics engineering magazines EDN and EE Times, highlights the most innovative products announced in the last 12 months, as well as recognizing visionary executives and the most promising new start-ups. A panel made up of the editorial teams of these magazines, plus several highly respected independent judges, were all involved in the process of selecting the winner in each category.  88NV1160 controller for non-volatile memory express

The 88NV1160 high performance controller for non-volatile memory express (NVMe), which was introduced by Marvell earlier this year, fought off tough competition from companies like Diodes Inc. and Cypress Semiconductor to win the coveted Logic/Interface/Memory category. Marvell gained two further nominations at the awards - with 98PX1012 Prestera PX Passive Intelligent Port Extender (PIPE) also being featured in the Logic/Interface/Memory category, while the 88W8987xA automotive wireless combo SoC was among those cited in the Automotive category. 

Designed for inclusion in the next generation of streamlined portable computing devices (such as high-end tablets and ultra-books), the 88NV1160 NVMe solid-state drive (SSD) controllers are able to deliver 1600MB/s read speeds while simultaneously keeping the power consumption required for such operations extremely low (<1.2W). Based on a 28nm low power CMOS process, each of these controller ICs has a dual core 400MHz Arm® Cortex®-R5 processor embedded into it. 

Through incorporation of a host memory buffer, the 88NV1160 exhibits far lower latency than competing devices. It is this that is responsible for accelerating the read speeds supported. By utilizing its embedded SRAM, the controller does not need to rely on an external DRAM memory - thereby simplifying the memory controller implementation. As a result, there is a significant reduction in the board space required, as well as a lowering of the overall bill-of-materials costs involved. 

The 88NV1160’s proprietary NANDEdge™ low density parity check error-correction functionality raises SSD endurance and makes sure that long term system reliability is upheld throughout the end product’s entire operational lifespan. The controller’s built-in 256-bit AES encryption engine ensures that stored metadata is safeguarded from potential security breaches. Furthermore, these DRAM-less ICs are very compact, thus enabling multiple-chip package integration to be benefitted from. 

Consumers are now expecting their portable electronics equipment to possess a lot more computing resource, so that they can access the exciting array of new software apps that are now becoming available; making use of cloud-based services, enjoying augmented reality and gaming. At the same time as offering functions of this kind, such items of equipment need to be able to support longer periods between battery recharges, so as to further enhance the user experience derived. This calls for advanced ICs combining strong processing capabilities with improved power efficiency levels and that is where the 88NV1160 comes in.ACE 2017 Award 

"We're excited to honor this robust group for their dedication to their craft and efforts in bettering the industry for years to come," said Nina Brown, Vice President of Events at UBM Americas. "The judging panel was given the difficult task of selecting winners from an incredibly talented group of finalists and we'd like to thank all of those participants for their amazing work and also honor their achievements. These awards aim to shine a light on the best in today's electronics realm and this group is the perfect example of excellence within both an important and complex industry."  

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