Silicon Motion Technology Corporation, a global leader in designing and marketing NAND flash controllers for solid state storage devices, today announced that its SM2246EN SATA (6 Gb/s) client SSD controller now supports Micron's 16 nm 128 gigabit (Gb) MLC NAND flash, ideal for high performance, high capacity SSD solutions up to 1 Terabyte.

SM2246EN offers the best performance and power combination of four channel SATA 6 Gb/s client SSD controller in the market, delivering even better performance than most 8-channel SSD controllers with substantially lower power consumption. Using Micron's 128 Gb 16 nm MLC NAND, the SM2246EN delivers up to 538 MB/s sequential read performance and 450 MB/s sequential write, as well as up to 67,000 random read IOPS and 65,000* random write IOPS. In addition, with Micron 128 Gb 16 nm MLC NAND, the SM2246EN delivers ultra-low power consumption, equating to about 30% lower than the average power consumption of other SSD controllers.

We're still a few days away from the official unveiling of MX100 solid state drive but thanks to a distributor jumping the gun we already have the full scoop on Crucial's latest creation. As previously revealed, the MX100 is set to be the first SSD equipped with Micron's 16 nm MLC NAND flash memory but not all models will have the 16 nm NAND - the 128 GB drive will pack 20 nm chips, while the 256 GB and 512 GB versions will have 16 nm flash.

All three MX100 drives come in a 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch chassis (a 9.5 mm adapter is included), and have a SATA 6.0 Gbps interface, a Marvell 88SS9189 controller, and are backed by a three-year warranty.

Announced back in July 2013, Micron's 128 Gigabit 16 nm-manufactured MLC (multi-level cell) NAND Flash memory will soon be making its debut within a new Crucial solid state drive. Named MX100, the 16 nm NAND-equipped drive will be showcased at Computex 2014 and is expected to arrive in a 2.5-inch form factor.

The MX100 has a SATA 6.0 Gbps interface and performance-wise it's said to be somewhere between the aging M500 and the recently released M550. Pricing is expected to be very competitive.

SK Hynix Inc. announced that it has started full-scale mass production of 16 nm 64 Gb (Gigabit) MLC (Multi Level Cell) NAND Flash, which uses the industry's thinnest process technology.

SK Hynix has been mass producing its 1st version of the world's first 16 nm NAND Flash since June and recently has started to mass produce the 2nd version which is more cost competitive due to its smaller chip size. In consequence, the Company geared up for strengthening its competitiveness in NAND Flash.

Synopsys, Inc., a global leader providing software, IP and services used to accelerate innovation in chips and electronic systems, today announced that it has collaborated with TSMC to provide support for voltage-dependent design rules in TSMC's 16-nm Custom Design Reference Flow. As part of TSMC's custom design infrastructure, TSMC has also certified Synopsys' Laker custom design solution and circuit simulation tools that deliver new capabilities for TSMC V0.5 16-nm FinFET process layout design rules, device models, and electromigration and IR-drop (EM/IR) analysis. TSMC and Synopsys will continue to collaborate on certification of the Synopsys tool set until 16 nm FinFET reaches V1.0.

"TSMC works with Synopsys to ensure our customers have access to analog and mixed-signal design tools for TSMC's 16-nanometer FinFET process," said Suk Lee, senior director of design infrastructure marketing at TSMC. "The Custom Design Reference Flow is another milestone of the long term collaboration between the two companies."

Synopsys, Inc., a global leader providing software, IP and services used to accelerate innovation in chips and electronic systems, today announced TSMC's certification of Synopsys' Laker custom design solution for the TSMC 16-nanometer (nm) FinFET process Design Rule Manual (DRM) V0.5 as well as the availability of a 16-nm interoperable process design kit (iPDK) from TSMC.

With its robust support for the iPDK standard, Synopsys' Laker custom design solution provides users with access to a wide range of TSMC process technologies, from 180-nm to 16-nm. Along with support for the TSMC 16-nm V0.5 iPDK, the Laker tool has been enhanced to enable full use of FinFET technology.