Interview with Longsys: Application Trends in Different Storage Markets

Recently, the 18th China Public Security Expo (CPSE) was held at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center in Futian District. The 16th China Security Forum, which was co-hosted by CPSE and the Shenzhen Security and Protection Industry Association (SSPIA), and organized by cps.com.cn, was held during the same period as the Expo. Chinese and international security industry experts, leading industry entrepreneurs, and famous scholars were among the attendees at the Expo. They discussed the security industry development trends based on 5G, big data, AI, biometrics, cloud computing, and other emerging technologies that are closely related to the development of the industry. Longsys was represented in the CPSE by its premium consumer storage brand - Lexar - and its industry storage brand - FORESEE - under the theme "Intelligent Security Empowering Storage Future".

Longsys's SDG Division sales leader had an exclusive interview with our reporter to analyze and predict the direction of storage applications in different industries. Longsys showcased its industrial memory cards and embedded storage products, such as eMMC, eMCP, LPDDR, and UFS. Commercial, industrial, and enterprise memory modules were also displayed. The biggest difference between enterprise memory modules and commercial memory modules is the particle selection and hardware design. Enterprise memory modules have stronger stability and stricter redundancy settings. In addition, several models of SSDs that support mainstream protocol interfaces, such as SATA and PCIe, were displayed.

How will Longsys's storage products develop in the following five markets?

For the smartphone market, Longsys's industry storage brand - FORESEE - has launched LPDDR3/4/4x as well as eMMC, UFS, eMCP, and uMCP to meet diverse market needs. UFS will be FORESEE's leading product in the smartphone market, he said. Due to the various market conditions in 2021, customers are still focusing on LPDDR4x and LPDDR5. As UFS is a new product, there is not that much demand for it at the beginning of the market rollout. UFS is currently used primarily in high-end smartphones. It will take some time before it is adopted widely.

In the security surveillance market, terminal devices, such as IPCs and dashboard cameras, are gradually abandoning the use of external memory cards, and are using the built-in eMMC instead. This can enhance storage stability and make the device more competitive for sales. In addition, many drones are now using eMMC to store important flight control data, while video data is mostly stored on memory cards. The increase in AI computing power in the security surveillance field in recent years has raised the demand for new storage requirements. In the early days, security surveillance IPCs had built-in NOR flash memory to store system data and an external memory card to store video data. Nowadays, more and more IPCs are using AI recognition algorithms and data caching, which has made the original storage capacity gradually insufficient. Therefore, customers usually opt to use an internal eMMC instead of the original "NOR flash memory + an external memory card" solution. Additionally, some products will also be equipped with more compatible external memory cards. Accordingly, Longsys has launched FORESEE commercial and industrial eMMCs and industrial memory cards to ensure stable and secure data storage.

In the wearable device market, small-capacity NAND flash memory products are becoming more popular. Some devices use small-sized eMMCs to install the operating system. For example, smartwatches generally use ePOP. In the early days, Bluetooth headsets with an MP3 player function usually used NAND flash memory products. Some high-end products will gradually use eMMCs in the future to meet the requirements of voice control and AI algorithms.

In the PC market, DDR4 memory modules are still mainstream. Although DDR5 memory modules have been gradually rolled out to the market, they are primarily used in high-end devices and still have a long way to go. It is expected that Longsys's DDR5 products will become increasingly popular in the coming years and at some point become as popular as DDR4 products.

A new demand has arisen in the automotive market for the vehicle digital video recorder (DVR). In the early days, most vehicle DVRs used hard disk drives (HDDs). However, vehicle vibration was a problem at that time, so vibration-damping design was a must. Today, there is a great demand for replacing HDDs with SSDs that are more shock resistant. This is because the requirements for performance, stability and security of such devices have gradually increased. This replacement will occur at an increasingly rapid pace as the price difference between HDDs and SSDs diminishes.

Longsys achieved a breakthrough in automotive products in 2021. According to Longsys, its automotive products are already being used in several automobile manufacturing plants. These products have been recognized and honored for their superior quality. Longsys has spent years developing automotive eMMC products. The entire process, from wafer screening and testing to factory identification and then to finished product screening and client validation, is executed in strict accordance with automotive product standards.

How should Longsys solve the capacity shortage?

When it came to SSD technology trends, he said that storage would still evolve toward newer processes, lower power consumption, higher performance, and greater capacity. Different markets and products use different processes. For example, the process used for industrial and automotive products is more mature, while the process for the consumer sector is more advanced. In terms of small-capacity storage, 2D MLC is primarily used in the market. In terms of large-capacity storage, the supply and stability of 3D TLC using mature processes can meet market requirements. After the technical screening, 3D TLC can then be used for industrial products.

When it comes to the current industry-wide concern of capacity shortage, Longsys has also felt the impact of market changes. Longsys will develop its strategy based on its vast experience in the storage industry, which has spanned for over 20 years. Relying on its information-based sales and supply chain systems, Longsys will prepare as far in advance as possible and fulfill the role of a "customer reservoir" to manage the possible impact of any market changes.

Longsys's slogan is "Everything for Memory", which means that the company is determined to provide excellent storage products and services. Longsys can be seen as a supermarket for storage products, where everything that customers need are on the shelves. Longsys offers all products and services as a package to customers rather than selling a single product. This includes a range of activities that Longsys conducts with its customers, such as product definition, technical exchange and support, and joint development. Longsys's R&D staff accounts for approximately 50% of its total workforce, giving it an important advantage, which contributes greatly in helping customers achieve greater value.

(Source: ChipGossip, an online media channel focusing on IC industry news, published on January 13, 2022)