Reliability Demonstration Test (RDT) is a rigorous test performed on ATP solid state drives (SSDs)

SSDs2021-06-29

Reliability Demonstration Test (RDT) is a rigorous test performed on ATP solid state drives (SSDs) over extended periods of time to demonstrate that each SSD meets the strictest quality requirements. All testing parameters aim to validate the mean time between failures (MTBF) rating of the drive. Instead of providing MTBF simulation results based on MIL-HDBK-217F, Telcordia SR-332, and other reliability prediction systems, ATP Electronics conducts actual drive-level testing to validate the rated MTBF value.

MTBF is a maintenance metric that measures the expected average time (in hours) between device failures. It is an important gauge for determining drive availability and reliability and is very useful in preparing for unplanned maintenance.

ATP RDT is performed according to following JEDEC standards:

  • JESD218: Solid State Drive (SSD) Requirements and Endurance Test Method. This standard defines the conditions of use and the corresponding endurance verification requirement for each defined SSD class.
  • JESD219: Solid State Drive (SSD) Endurance Workloads. This standard defines workloads for the endurance rating and endurance verification of SSD application classes. These workloads are used in conjunction with JESD218.
  • JEP150.01: Stress-Test-Driven Qualification of and Failure Mechanisms Associated with Assembled Solid-State Surface-Mount Components.
  • JESD91A: Method for Developing Acceleration Models for Electronic Component Failure Mechanisms. This standard aims to provide a reference for developing acceleration models for defect-related and wear-out mechanisms in electronic components

 

RDT Test Conditions and Flow

The following figure shows the RDT test conditions and process flow with respective Sequential and Random workload/transfer sizes.

  • Sequential/Transfer Size: 128K/256K/512K
  • Random/Transfer Sizes: 4K/8K/16K/32

Figure 1. RDT Test Conditions and Flow

 

Reliability Demonstration Test Results

ATP performed RDT on SATA M.2 2280 SSDs of various capacities. All SSDs completed the RDT without issues or data miscompare.

The Arrhenius equation is implemented to calculate thermal acceleration factors for semiconductor device time-to-failure distributions.

 

 

Where:

Ea: Activation Energy = 0.6

K: Boltzman constant

T0: Use temperature

Ts: Stress temperature

The cumulative power on hours for all the drives was over 671,760 hours. After applying the Acceleration Factor (AF=2.84), the cumulative Tuse hours is 1,910,181 hours.  The resulting MTBF is 2,084,689 hours at 55°C with 60% confidence.

Figure 2. Sample RDT test results

Key Takeaways

ATP performs exhaustive actual drive-level testing on its SSDs over extended periods of time to validate the rated MTBF value instead of relying on reliability prediction systems. ATP performs RDT according to JEDEC standards to determine drive reliability, and uses the Arrhenius equation to calculate thermal acceleration factors for semiconductor device time-to-failure distributions. All SSDs ATP complete the RDT without issues or data miscompare.

ATP’s Reliability Demonstration Test is part of the many reliability and endurance tests developed and performed by ATP to ensure strict compliance to the highest standards of quality. ATP is committed to deliver high-performance and high-endurance NAND flash storage products to ensure the best value for total cost of ownership (TCO).

For more information on ATP’s testing processes and for customization requests, visit the ATP website or contact an ATP Representative.

 

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