Samsung Electronics has successfully developed what is said to be the industry’s first PCIe 4.0 automotive SSD based on eighth-generation vertical NAND (V-NAND).

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With improved speeds and enhanced reliability, the new auto SSD, AM9C1 is intended as a solution for on-device AI capabilities in automotive applications.

 

With around a 50% improvement in power efficiency compared to its predecessor, the AM991, the new 256GB auto SSD can deliver sequential read and write speeds of up to 4,400 megabytes-per-second (MB/s) and 400MB/s, respectively.

"We are collaborating with global autonomous vehicle makers and providing high-performance, high-capacity automotive products," said Hyunduk Cho, Vice President and Head of Automotive Group at Samsung Electronics’ Memory Business. "Samsung will continue to lead the Physical AI1 memory market that encompasses applications from autonomous driving to robotics technologies."

Built on Samsung’s 5-nanometer (nm) controller and providing a single-level cell (SLC) Namespace2 feature, the auto SSD AM9C1 has demonstrated high performance for easier access to large files. By switching from its original triple-level cell (TLC) state to SLC mode, users benefit from boosted read and write speeds of up to 4,700MB/s and 1,400MB/s, respectively, while also benefiting from the added reliability of SLC SSDs.

The 256GB AM9C1 is currently being sampled by key partners and is expected to begin mass production by the end of this year.

Samsung said that it plans to offer multiple storage capacities for the AM9C1 ranging from 128GB to 2 terabytes (TB) to address the growing demand for high-capacity automotive SSDs. The 2TB model, which is set to offer the industry’s largest capacity in this product category, is scheduled to start mass production early next year.

Through intensified board-level tests, Samsung’s new auto SSD satisfies the automotive semiconductor quality standard AEC-Q1003 Grade 2, ensuring stable performance over a wide temperature range of -40°C to 105°C.

In order to further meet the high standards of the automotive industry in terms of durability and stability, Samsung has also conducted various quality assurance processes. The company received ASPICE CL3 authentication4 for its UFS 3.1 product in March this year.

In an effort to obtain CSMS certification based on ISO/SAE 21434,5 Samsung said that it will continue to actively enhance the technological reliability and stability of its automotive solutions.

“ASPICE and ISO/SAE 21434 certifications are milestones that affirm the reliability and stability of our technology,” said Hwaseok Oh, Executive Vice President at Samsung Electronics’ Memory Business. “Beyond these achievements, Samsung will continue to elevate its product stability and quality by consistently providing the best solution to key partners.”

 The Israeli military has warned displaced residents of southern Lebanon not to return to their homes as it targets militant group Hezbollah in waves of strikes. 

Residents of villages in southern Lebanon began fleeing on Monday after the Israel Defense Forces warned civilians to leave areas in which Hezbollah operates, such as those used to store weapons. 

“To all residents of Lebanese villages who evacuated their homes for their own safety due to the presence of weapons or elements of the terrorist Hezbollah, IDF raids continue,” The Israel Defense Forces Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, wrote on X. 

“For your safety, do not return to your homes until further notice.” 

An estimated half a million people have been displaced in Lebanon, the country’s foreign minister said Tuesday, a day after Israeli strikes killed more than 500 people across the country.

The United Nations refugee agency warned on Tuesday that the number of displaced people in Lebanon is only set to rise. UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh described the situation in the country as “extremely alarming” and “very chaotic.”   

“Even prior to the latest escalation, over 100,000 people had been displaced from the southern regions of Lebanon and UNHCR had intervened to support them,” he said. “That was as of over a month ago.” 

Last week, Israel made the safe return of residents to northern Israel a war goal following nearly a year of cross-border exchanges of fire with Hezbollah.