SATA-Disk Module 4

APSDMxxxxX5AN-PXXX

3

© 2013 Apacer Technology Inc.

Rev. 1.5

1. General Description

Apacer’s SATA-Disk Module 4 (SDM4) is a high-performance, embedded SSD designed to replace the

conventional SATA hard disk drive. SDM SSD can be plugged into a standard Serial ATA connectors

commonly found in desktops, IT-STB, industrial PC and thin client systems.

Apacer’s SDM4 is built in with an efficient microcontroller that drives the potential of NAND flashy and

delivers optimal performance. With its compact form factor and SATA II interface, this product is well

suited for embedded flash storage applications offering customizable and expanded functionalities as well

as more cost-effective designs, better performance and increased reliability.

SDM4 Series is designed to work at 5 Volts and uses a standard SATA driver that complies with major

operating systems such as Microsoft’s Windows series. Featuring technologies as Apacer-specific Wear-

leveling algorithms, S.M.A.R.T, bad block management, Power Failure Management, ATA Secure Erase,

and TRIM, Apacer assures users of a versatile device on data storage.

1.1 Performance-Optimized Controller

The heart of SDM4 is the Flash controller, which translates standard SATA signals into the data and

controls of the flash media. The SATA and Flash Management controller are specifically designed to

attain high data throughput from the host to the flash.

1.1.1 Power Management

The controller comes with SATA physical interface (PHY) that takes a significant part of the total power

budget of the host or other connected electronics. SATA interface provides the means to place the PHY

into lowered power modes. When the parts of power for PHY are shut down to reserve power supply, the

ability of the SATA interfaced device to respond to command can be affected. Thus, the SATA protocol is

implemented with the capability to track the power modes of the devices and require the additional

latency to wake up PHY from lowered power modes.

1.1.2 RAM

The controller is implemented with RAM as a data buffer to optimize data transfer between the host and

the flash media.