The Evolution Of Solid-State Drive Technology

Common Classifications Of Solid-State Drives

In 2007, with the release of the first solid-state drive (SSD) by Intel, SSDs began to gain popularity in the consumer market. Since then, the development of SSDs has been advancing rapidly. As technology has advanced, leading to increased storage capacity and decreased prices, SSDs have emerged as one of the primary storage devices for many computers and servers.

SLC (Single-Level Cell) SSD: Each storage unit stores only one bit of data, offering the highest performance and durability, but also the highest cost.

MLC (Multi-Level Cell) SSD: Each storage unit can store multiple bits of data, with lower cost but relatively lower performance and lifespan.

TLC (Triple-Level Cell) SSD: Each storage unit stores three bits of data, with even lower cost but further reduced performance and lifespan.

QLC (Quad-Level Cell) SSD: Each storage unit stores four bits of data, with the lowest cost but relatively lower performance and lifespan.

Based on usage:

Consumer-grade SSD: Suitable for general users, providing good performance and reliability.

Enterprise-grade SSD: With higher durability and reliability, suitable for high-load environments such as servers and data centers.

The data transmission differences between PCIe 3.0 and 5.0

The speed of SSDs is typically determined by factors such as the interface type, internal technology, memory type, and constroller performance.

Data Transfer Speed:

The theoretical maximum transfer speed of PCIe 3.0 is 8 GT/s per lane (approximately 1 GB/s per lane).

The theoretical maximum transfer speed of PCIe 4.0 is double that of PCIe 3.0, at 16 GT/s per lane (approximately 2 GB/s per lane).

The theoretical maximum transfer speed of PCIe 5.0 is double that of PCIe 4.0, at 32 GT/s per lane (approximately 4 GB/s per lane).

Therefore, PCIe 5.0 offers higher bandwidth and data transfer speeds compared to PCIe 3.0, making it more suitable for high-performance computing and data center applications.

Bandwidth:

The theoretical bandwidth per lane of PCIe 3.0 is 8 GB/s.

The theoretical bandwidth per lane of PCIe 4.0 is 16 GB/s.

The theoretical bandwidth per lane of PCIe 5.0 is 32 GB/s.

PCIe 5.0 addresses the growing demand for data transfer speeds and performance by providing higher bandwidth.

Compatibility:

PCIe 5.0 is backward compatible, meaning that PCIe 5.0 devices can be compatible with previous versions of the PCIe interface (such as PCIe 4.0, PCIe 3.0), albeit at reduced speeds. Similarly, previous version devices can also be connected to PCIe 5.0 slots but will operate at lower speeds.

Power Supply Specification:

PCIe 5.0 introduces new power supply specifications to support higher bandwidth and performance. This may require new hardware designs and power solutions to ensure system stability.

Security:

PCIe 5.0 introduces new security features and protocols to enhance the security and integrity of data transmission. This is crucial for protecting sensitive data and ensuring secure data transmission.

In summary, PCIe 5.0 offers higher transfer speeds, greater bandwidth, better compatibility, and stronger security compared to PCIe 3.0, making it the preferred interface standard for current and future high-performance computing and data center applications.

MAS1019	WCP2157

Discover WCP and MAS series of MACTRON GROUP(MTG), featuring mobile tablets equipped with SSD solid-state drives, ensuring high-standard PCIe performance tailored to accommodate your program processing needs.

Continue Reading

Simplify Employee Management with Fingerprint Scanners

Fingerprint scanners have become vital to modern life, effortlessly identifying individuals with a single touch. Exploring the technology behind them and their potential applications reveals their significant impact on various aspects of our daily lives.

Fingerprint Scanner

Fingerprints are distinctive friction ridge patterns on fingers, that serve as durable and intricate identifiers. Fingerprint scanners, crucial components of Biometrics security systems, utilize diverse recognition technologies in police stations, security sectors, smartphones, and mobile devices. These scanners capture and analyze fingerprint data using unique principles and sensor systems, guaranteeing precise identification and authentication. Here's an overview of each type's operating principle:

Optical：

Capacitive fingerprint recognition relies on the electrical properties of human skin. A sensor array detects electrical variances between ridges and valleys on the fingerprint's surface. When a finger touches the sensor, capacitance at each pixel is gauged, forming a unique fingerprint image from capacitance variations.

Advantages：

• Cost-effective: Optical scanners provide a budget-friendly alternative compared to other types.
• Ideal for essential security: They effectively fulfill basic authentication needs.
• User-friendly: They typically offer an intuitive experience and straightforward setup process.

Challenges：

• Lower resolution: Optical scanners may have reduced resolution, resulting in less accurate scans compared to other types.
• Susceptible to environmental factors: Wet, dry, or aged fingers may pose issues with image capture due to variations in reflective properties.

Capacitive：

Capacitive fingerprint recognition relies on the electrical properties of the human skin. A capacitive sensor array detects the electrical differences between ridges and valleys on the fingerprint's surface. When a finger is placed on the sensor, the capacitance at each pixel is measured, creating a unique fingerprint image based on the variations in capacitance.

Advantages：

• Higher security: Capacitive scanners are generally more secure compared to optical scanners.
• Better accuracy: They provide higher-resolution scans, leading to more accurate authentication.
• Less affected by external factors: They are less affected by dirt, moisture, or lighting conditions.

Challenges：

• Higher cost: Capacitive scanners are typically more expensive due to their advanced technology.
• Limited to certain materials: They work best with conductive materials, limiting the types of surfaces they can be integrated into.

Ultrasonic：

Ultrasonic fingerprint recognition utilizes ultrasonic waves to generate a 3D image of the fingerprint's subsurface features. A transducer emits ultrasonic waves that penetrate the skin and bounce off unique fingerprint characteristics like ridges and pores. The sensor captures these reflections, forming a detailed 3D fingerprint image for authentication.

Advantages：

• Highly secure: Ultrasonic scanners provide heightened security by capturing detailed 3D fingerprint images.
• Spoofing resistance: They are less susceptible to spoofing compared to optical and capacitive scanners.
• Works through materials: Ultrasonic scanners can penetrate thin materials like glass or plastic, offering design flexibility.

Challenges：

• Cost: Ultrasonic scanners are often pricier due to their advanced technology.
• Power consumption: They may drain more power, impacting battery life in mobile devices.
• Complexity: The technology behind ultrasonic scanning is more complex, which may result in higher maintenance costs and potential integration challenges.

Advantages of using fingerprint scanner in Industrial PC

Advantages of Fingerprint Scanners in Industrial PCs:

1. Enhanced Security: Fingerprint scanners offer Biometrics authentication, difficult to spoof, ensuring higher security compared to passwords.
2. Convenience and Efficiency: Users find fingerprint authentication convenient, eliminating the need for password memorization or physical tokens, thereby speeding up login processes.
3. Reduced Risk of Unauthorized Access: Fingerprint authentication limits access to authorized personnel only, minimizing the risk of unauthorized entry, data breaches, and sabotage.
4. Integration with Access Control Systems: Fingerprint scanners seamlessly integrate with access control systems, enabling effective enforcement of security policies, user access tracking, and audit trail maintenance.
5. Compliance with Regulations: Fingerprint authentication helps organizations comply with industry-specific data security, privacy, and access control regulations, enhancing regulatory compliance.

Overall, fingerprint scanners in Industrial PCs offer robust security, convenience, and compliance benefits, enhancing industrial authentication systems' effectiveness.

The choice of fingerprint scanner depends on security requirements, budget, environmental conditions, and intended use. Each type has unique strengths and weaknesses, necessitating careful consideration during selection.

Check out MACTRON GROUP(MTG)’s MCA0556 & MCA0806 products. Both of them supports capacitive fingerprint, and MCA0806 support both capacitive and optical fingerprint module. They will become powerful tools to help you manage employee identification and information security.

Continue Reading

How Active Current Compensation Protect Your Device?

Active Current Compensation (ACC) refers to a technique used in power electronics to mitigate or eliminate undesirable current harmonics or distortions in electrical systems. The trigger mechanism initiates the compensating action to mitigate these unwanted harmonics and maintain the quality of the electrical power. The following will briefly introduce the existing ACC technology and the factors of trigger ACC.

Technology of Active Current Compensation

The primary objective of ACC is to maintain the sinusoidal shape of the current waveform and ensure that it closely follows the fundamental frequency of the electrical system. By doing so, ACC helps to improve power quality, reduce losses, and prevent adverse effects such as voltage distortion, overheating of equipment, and interference with other electrical devices.

There are several methods and devices used to implement ACC, including:

Active Harmonic Filters (AHFs):
These are electronic devices that actively inject compensating currents into the electrical system to cancel out harmonic currents generated by nonlinear loads. AHFs typically use power electronics converters, such as voltage-source inverters, to generate the compensating currents.

Active Power Filters (APFs):
Similar to AHFs, APFs are devices that inject compensating currents into the system to mitigate harmonic distortions. In addition to compensating for harmonic currents, APFs can also provide reactive power compensation and voltage regulation.

Active Front-End Converters:
In some applications, such as variable frequency drives (VFDs) and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), active front-end converters are used to control the input current waveform to the system. These converters actively shape the current waveform to reduce harmonic content and improve power factor.

Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Control:
ACC systems often employ digital signal processing techniques to analyze the current waveform and generate compensating signals in real-time. DSP-based control algorithms can adapt to changing system conditions and effectively compensate for harmonic currents over a wide range of operating conditions.

Trigger of Active Current Compensation

ACC plays a critical role in modern power systems. By actively compensating for harmonic currents, ACC helps to maintain power quality and ensure the stable operation of electrical systems. The trigger for ACC can be based on various factors, including:

Current Monitoring:
ACC systems continuously monitor the current waveform using sensors or measurement devices. When the current waveform deviates from the desired sinusoidal shape or exceeds predefined harmonic distortion limits, the ACC system is triggered to take corrective action.

Voltage Monitoring:
In some cases, ACC systems may trigger based on voltage measurements, especially if voltage distortions are correlated with current distortions. Voltage monitoring helps detect system-wide disturbances that may affect power quality and trigger compensating action accordingly.

Predefined Thresholds:
ACC systems often have predefined thresholds for harmonic distortion levels or power quality indices. When the measured values exceed these thresholds, the ACC system is triggered to activate compensating devices or algorithms to mitigate the disturbances.

Control Signals:
In systems with centralized control, such as active harmonic filters (AHFs) or active power filters (APFs), the trigger may be initiated by control signals from a central controller or supervisory system. These control signals are based on real-time analysis of system conditions and trigger compensating action as needed.

User Commands:
In some applications, users may have the ability to manually trigger ACC operation based on their specific requirements or preferences. For example, users may activate ACC to mitigate harmonic distortions during critical operations or when sensitive equipment is in use.

Benefits of Applying Active Current Compensation in Industrial PC Field

Applying ACC in the industrial PC field offers several benefits:

Improved Power Quality:
ACC can monitor and compensate for harmonic distortions and voltage fluctuations in the electrical grid, enhancing the power quality of industrial PC systems. A stable power supply helps reduce equipment failures and enhances system reliability.

Equipment Protection:
ACC reduces the risk of equipment damage and failures caused by harmonics and voltage fluctuations. By promptly compensating for current distortions in the grid, ACC protects industrial PCs and related equipment, prolonging their lifespan.

Enhanced Energy Efficiency:
ACC optimizes the power factor of industrial PC systems and reduces energy losses resulting from harmonic currents and voltage fluctuations. Improved energy utilization helps lower energy costs and boost system efficiency.

Reduced Downtime:
A stable power supply minimizes production downtime due to equipment failures and power quality issues. ACC ensures the reliable operation of industrial PC systems, reducing the risk of production interruptions.

Increased Productivity:
Stable power supply and equipment protection improve productivity. The continuous and reliable operation of industrial PC systems ensures production continuity and reliability, leading to increased productivity.

Lower Maintenance Costs:
By reducing equipment failures and extending equipment lifespan, ACC lowers maintenance costs. A stable power supply helps reduce equipment maintenance and repair frequency, lowering maintenance expenses.

In summary, implementing ACC in the industrial PC domain improves power quality, protects equipment, enhances energy efficiency, reduces downtime, increases productivity, and lowers maintenance costs. This ensures stable and reliable power support for industrial production, ultimately enhancing overall production efficiency.

Take a look at the MAV series of MACTRON GROUP(MTG).

Our MAV series products are all equipped with ACC input, which can support you to detect and respond to harmonic distortions, and contribute to improved system performance, energy efficiency, and overall reliability. Contact us for more information on which MAV product is adequate for you.

Continue Reading

The Color-Accurate IPS Display Provides True-To-Life Images

 

Directions of Advancement in Screen Technology

By BenRG - Own work based on: CIExy1931.svg, Public Domain, Link

Screen technology has been constantly advancing, involving various aspects of displays, including resolution, color depth, refresh rate, size, type, and brightness, among others. Here are some trends in screen technology.

• Resolution and Pixel Density:
  With technological progress, screen resolution continues to increase. Resolutions such as High Definition (HD), Full High Definition (Full HD), 2K, 4K, 8K, and beyond are becoming more common, providing clearer images. Higher pixel density makes images and text more detailed.


• Color Technology:
  Next-generation screen technologies support wider color gamuts and more realistic color representation. For example, High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology offers higher contrast and richer colors, enhancing the visual experience.


• Refresh Rate:
  High refresh rate screens (e.g., 120Hz, 144Hz, 240Hz) offer smoother animation effects in gaming and video. This is crucial for gaming enthusiasts and applications sensitive to dynamic visual effects.


• Curved Screens:
  Curved displays provide viewers with a more immersive visual experience, especially for larger screens. This technology is widely used in TVs and computer monitors.


• Energy Efficiency:
  New screen technologies are often designed to be more energy-efficient, incorporating low-power backlight technology, automatic brightness adjustment, and power-saving modes.

These advancements in technology typically debut in high-end displays and gradually diffuse into the broader market. The continuous development of display technology consistently enhances the visual experience, allowing users to enjoy higher-quality visuals.

The Outstanding Performance And Advantages Of IPS Displays

There are various types of liquid crystal display (LCD) technology, and some of the main types include: TN (Twisted Nematic), VA (Vertical Alignment), IPS (In-Plane Switching) and OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode), MicroLED, Mini-LED.

The reason IPS is currently the most widely used is that the visual experience and color performance it provides are considered by many users to be an ideal choice for numerous application scenarios. IPS stands for "In-Plane Switching," which is a type of liquid crystal display (LCD) technology. IPS technology is primarily used in LCDs and other flat-panel display devices to offer better color accuracy, wide viewing angles, and faster response times.

Here are some features of IPS technology:

• Wide Viewing Angles:
  IPS technology provides a larger viewing angle range, meaning that the color and brightness variations on the screen are minimal. This ensures consistent image performance regardless of your position in front of the screen.


• Color Accuracy:
  IPS displays typically present more accurate and saturated colors. This is crucial for applications that require precise color representation, such as photo editing, video production, and professional design.


• Faster Response Times:
  Compared to some past LCD technologies (such as Twisted Nematic, TN), IPS generally has faster response times, helping to reduce motion blur and image ghosting in fast-paced dynamic scenes.


• Low Color Shifting:
  IPS displays exhibit lower color shifting compared to some other LCD technologies. This means that the colors on the screen remain relatively consistent at different viewing angles.


• Suitable for Multimedia and Professional Applications:
  Due to its excellent color performance and viewing angle characteristics, IPS displays are often chosen for applications that demand high color accuracy, such as video editing, video production, and digital art creation.

MAS1227 / MAA1013

Take a look at the MAS Series/ MAA Series Series of MACTRON GROUP(MTG). Our mobile tablets all use IPS panel displays for accurate color performance and multimedia and professional applications to suit your work environment.

Continue Reading