Standard Technology - SLC vs. MLC
NAND Flash has earned the reputation of being the top choice in today's media-rich mobile consumer electronics. There are two types of NAND Flash available in USB flash drives - SLC and MLC.
What is SLC?
Single Level Cell (SLC) flash outperforms Multi Level Cell (MLC) flash. Buffalo's high performance USB Flash products, as well as PDAs and digital video players, use this type of flash technology.
What is MLC?
Multi Level Cell (MLC) flash has low cost benefits, but performs at slower speeds.
Advantages of SLC over MLC
- SLC flash accesses and writes to the flash FASTER, by using "simpler" control logic with 1 bit vs. the 2 bits used by MLC flash.
- The program operations in SLC chips last 100,000 cycles, TEN TIMES longer than MLC.
- At a first glance, SLC flash appears to be more expensive than MLC. However, taking into consideration the higher reliability and lifespan of SLC, the aggregate cost is for SLC is LOWER.
Table of comparison (SLC vs. MLC)
| Item | SLC | MLC |
|---|---|---|
| Voltage | 3.3V / 1.8V | 3.3V |
| Technology / Chip Size | 0.12um | 0.16um |
| Page Size / Block Size | 2KB / 128KB | 512KB / 32KB or 2KB / 256KB |
| Access Time (Max.) | 25us | 70us |
| Page Program Time (Typ.) | 250us | 1.2ms |
| Partial Program | Yes | No |
| Endurance | 100K | 10K |
| Write Data Rate | 8MB/s+ | 1.5MB/s |
Buffalo Flash products with SLC technology:
Buffalo uses the latest SLC technology flash combined with Buffalo's 4x memory interleaving chipsets (accessing 4 memory banks simultaneously, rather than sequentially), ensures Buffalo offers the highest quality and best performance flash on the market.
| USB Flash Drive 256 MB Type-S | RUF2-S256-WH |
| USB Flash Drive 512 MB Type-S | RUF2-S512-WH |
| USB Flash Drive 1GB Type-S | RUF2-S1G-WH |
| USB Flash Drive 2GB Type-S | RUF2-S2G-WH |
Learn more about Buffalo USB Flash Drive Type-S Products.
