Wide-IO Solid-State Storage Buffering With FIFO Metadata Control

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing wide-IO interface designs for solid-state storage face challenges such as granularity incompatibility, low bandwidth utilization, long latency, high power consumption, and inefficient data buffering, particularly in high-density integrated circuits like LPDDR DRAM and SSDs.

Innovation Solution

A first-in-first-out (FIFO) buffer is used for data storage, accompanied by a metadata structure and a buffer manager to manage data access requests, optimizing data buffering with low power consumption and efficient control, including features like cache-like organization, metadata management, and garbage collection to handle issues specific to wide-IO NAND devices.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If NAND devices are used to accommodate wide-IO interface, then storage capacity is increased, but bandwidth utilization becomes low and latency increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestorage capacityVSAvoidbandwidth utilization
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

A buffer manager is introduced as an intermediary component between the wide-IO interface and NAND devices. The buffer manager includes a buffer for temporary data storage and a metadata structure for tracking data usage schemes, enabling efficient data buffering and access that resolves the bandwidth utilization and latency issues while maintaining high storage capacity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Quantity of substance

If wide-IO interface is implemented for high-density integrated circuits, then storage density is improved, but power consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestorage densityVSAvoidpower consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The buffer manager implements periodic garbage collection operations and metadata updates that optimize power consumption. By managing data buffering in periodic cycles rather than continuous operation, the system maintains high storage density while reducing overall power consumption through efficient idle state management

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

3Device complexity

If traditional buffering methods are used for wide-IO solid-state storage, then device complexity is reduced, but data buffering efficiency becomes low

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebuffering structure simplicityVSAvoiddata buffering efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The buffering system is segmented into distinct functional components: a buffer for data storage, a metadata structure for tracking usage schemes, and a buffer manager for control operations. This segmentation improves data buffering efficiency by enabling independent optimization of each component while maintaining manageable overall complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP4687020A1Control and management of buffer for wide-IO solid-state storage
Publication Date: 2026.02.04 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD
  • EP4687020A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4687020A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4687020A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A system and a method for interfacing a wide-IO solid-state storage are disclosed. A buffer is configured to store data corresponding to a solid-state storage. The buffer is a first-in-first-out, FIFO, buffer. A metadata structure is configured to store metadata information including a usage scheme related to the data stored in the buffer. A buffer manager is configured to manage the buffer and the metadata structure based on the metadata information in response to an access request having an access address. The buffer manager performs an access response including one of a write access or a read access to the buffer. The access request is one of a miss or a hit.