Hybrid triple-level-cell/multi-level-cell NAND flash storage array with chip exchangeable method

摘要

This paper proposes a mix-and-match design method for triple level cell (TLC)/multi level cell (MLC) NAND flash hybrid and exchangeable storage arrays. A TLC-NAND flash provides an low cost and high capacity memory solution. However the reliability and access latency of TLC NAND flash are degraded from MLC NAND flash. Additionally, the block unit write is preferable for TLC NAND flash since the write order is complicated due to narrow data margin and write disturbance. The proposed solution combines TLC and MLC NAND flash memories for a storage array. To reduce access to TLC NAND lash, the stored data is screened and only the static frozen data are stored into TLC NAND flash with a Round-Robin frozen data collection algorithm (RR-FDCA). Furthermore, the proposed chip exchanging method extends the solid-state drive (SSD) lifetime without system suspending. As a result, in spite of moderate characteristics of TLC NAND flash, the proposed storage array can achieve 29% write energy saving and 56% write performance enhancement with 17% cost reduction, compared with the conventional MLC-only SSD.