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Why does Unigen, the module company, sell discreet memory devices? |
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Unigen is committed to the OEM market. Many of our customers manufacture products based on proven designs using memory devices the market has moved beyond. Recognizing this trend, Unigen has arranged partnerships with its strategic vendors to manufacture and supply legacy memory devices, so customers are not required to re-spin their boards.
Unigen has extensive relationships with leading silicon suppliers to obtain legacy devices into the future. Whether buying packaged parts, wafers that Unigen packages and tests, or fabricating the devices outright, Unigen continues to support the legacy needs of its customers. |
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What is an SDIO card? |
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The SDIO card is a wireless communications device. The acronym is from Secure Digital input/output. The Unigen SDIO product is an IEEE802.11 transceiver packaged to fit in a Secure Digital media device/reader to enable Wi-Fi communications. |
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What is DDR memory? |
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DDR memory is an industry standard for a given memory technology. Dual-Data Rate (DDR) memory operates twice as fast as its predecessor as it can reads/writes data on both the rising and falling cycle of the system clock. DDR memory is used in the faster desktop and server computers and in network and telephony applications where speed is crucial. |
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Where can I buy retail Unigen Modules? |
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Unigen’s entire focus is on developing OEM products and solutions. You won’t find a Unigen “branded”product on the store shelf. However, you will find Unigen technology and products in many of the products you do buy, whether for consumer or corporate use. |
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What is the Unigen Lifetime Warranty? |
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Unigen warrants their module products for the lifetime of the device or product into which they are installed and used. |
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How does Unigen help with NPI? |
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Unigen is a full service design, manufacturing, test, and certification facility. Unigen has evolved many proprietary test routines to ensure the life of their products. Unigen is a “one-stop-shop”for NPI with design engineering, state-of-the-art manufacturing, extensive testing and design verification processes, and agency/SIG certification services.
The result of Unigen Engineering and test practices is an unwavering commitment to quality OEM products. This proven commitment is paramount for today’s new products and technologies. |
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How long will NAND Flash devices last? |
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NAND flash devices are very robust and may outlast the life of their owners and so far, no one person or organization known to date has operated a flash device to failure.
Mean Time between Failure (MTBF) for NAND Flash devices is a calculated number based on the characteristics of the NAND IC’s, the controllers, and complete assembly.
Current estimates for product life range from 1,000,000 to over 3,000,000 hours of operation, or 114 years!! Individual NAND cell program/erase cycles may exceed 2,000,000 per memory block.
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What does the speed rating (i.e. 24X) mean? |
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The speed rating of either digital media or SSD products typically refers to the sequential write speed, or data rate. Data throughput is factored as follows;
MB/s = 150Kbps*speed.
A Compact Flash card rated at 24X speed is transferring data at 3.6Mbps (150,000*24=3,600,000) |
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What is the difference between “Digital Media”and “Solid-State Storage”NAND Flash devices? |
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“Digital Media”NAND Flash products refer to memory devices (Compact Flash, Secure Digital, Memory Stick™, etc.) typically used in and with consumer electronics devices. Digital Media products conform to an industry standard.
“Solid-State Storage”devices, or SSD’s, refer to a class of NAND Flash devices used predominantly in embedded system applications. Whereas both digital media and SSD products use NAND Flash, the footprint of SSD products may vary from a typical disc-drive, or IDE interface to 40 and 44-pin header style connections. |
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What is the difference between buying NAND Flash devices (Compact Flash, Secure Digital, etc.) from |
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The emergence of NAND Flash products in the consumer market is exploding. Several manufacturers offer digital media solutions ranging in speed and density from 4X to 40X and 16MB to 4GB respectively. Retail outlets are very good at supplying product for consumer use, they are lacking in mechanisms and programs to support OEM needs. OEM needs may include, but are certainly not limited to, controller consistency from order to order, industrial temperature IC’s and packaging, programming of the device with an OS consistent with the OEM integration, and advanced device programming and testing. |
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What is a VRM? |
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VRM stands for Voltage Regulator Module. A VRM is a modular approach to the addition of a voltage regulator to a given architecture. |
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Where would I use a VRM? |
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A VRM is used for memory applications, specifically higher speed memory systems where obtaining the rated memory speed is critical for system operation. |
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How does a VRM assure system memory speed. |
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Memory reads/writes occur on the rising and falling edges of the power cycle associated with the system clock speed. Using a VRM “conditions”the power going to the memory creating sharper rising and falling clock edges. In return, the memory responds at the true memory-bus clock rate. |
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Why would I use a VRM instead of putting a voltage regulator on my main PCB? |
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A VRM is ideal in systems where the main PCB can be used in multiple speed and/or configurations. The module approach supports a “standard”pin array for a PCB allowing for modules of differing characteristics to be deployed on the same main board. In larger quantities, a voltage regulator placed on the main PCB may be the best solution. Typically in higher end solutions (network servers, telecom, etc.) the volume of products shipping may warrant the module approach to support individual order requirements from the same basic platform. |
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Why use Unigen VRM Modules? |
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Since 1991, Unigen has focused entirely on modular solutions, starting with building and testing memory modules. Unigen’s core focus is the module, building high end, high quality products for OEM use. Unigen’s commitment to quality, engineering, testing and support of the OEM account is rivaled by none. Unigen is a pioneer in the Voltage Regulator Module, designing and manufacturing standards based modules for OEM applications. |
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