MEMS-Based Storage Devices

Stuart Hostler
COP 4810

Overview
Need for MEMS
RAM-to-Disk Performance Gap

What is MEMS?
Implementation Approaches
Cantilevered Beam Vs. Moving Media

Moving Media Model

Data Organization
Physical Influencing Factors
Bit Size, Access Velocity, Spring Stiffness, etc

Performance Influencing Factors

Seek time, Turnaround time, Power, Reliability, etc

Applications

Need for M.E.M.S

RAM-to-Disk Performance Gap
Disk Drives
Non-Volatile Memory

What is MEMS?
Microelectromechanical Systems(MEMS)

Very small-scale mechanical structures,

fabricated on silicon chips using the same
standard CMOS processes as other
semiconductor devices.

Implementation Approaches
Cantilevered Beam

Moving Media

Performance of CMU MEMS-based storage

prototype
Performance
Average service time
Maximum service time
Average seek time
Maximum seek time
Average X seek time
Maximum X seek time
Average Y seek time
Maximum Y seek time

Time (ms)

0.67
1.92
0.53
0.73
0.32
0.73
0.35
0.73

Data Organization (disk)

Data Organization (MEMS)

Physical Influences
Bit Size
Access Velocity
Sled Acceleration
Spring Stiffness
Number of Sleds
Number of Active Tips
Error Rates

Physical Influences
Bit Size

Areal density of the storage media

Resolution of the probe tips

Access Velocity
Bound by effective actuator force
Increased Acceleration/Deceleration Time

Physical Influences cont

Sled Acceleration

Actuator Force
Spring Stiffness
Sled Mass

Spring Stiffness
Sled Support
Cannot exceed Actuator Force

Physical Influences cont

Number of Sleds

Capacity
Parallelism

Number of Active Tips

Parallelism
Power

Error Rates
Materials

Performance Influences
Seek Time
Settle Time
Turnaround Time
Bandwidth
Capacity
Power Consumption
Reliability

Performance Influences
Seek Time
Access velocity
Sled Accelleration
Actuator force
Number of Sleds
Sled Mass
Spring Stiffness

Settle Time

Actuator Force
Spring Stiffness
Sled Mass
Number of Sleds

Performance Influences cont

Turnaround Time
Actuator Force
Sled Mass
Number of Sleds
Sled Access Velocity
Spring Stiffness

Bandwidth
Bit Size
Sled Access Velocity
Actuator force, Sled Mass, Spring Stiffness, Number of Sleds
Error Rate

Performance Influences cont

Capacity
Increase
Actuator Force
Decrease
Bit Size
Error Rates
Sled Access Velocity
Number of Sleds

Power
Actuator Force
Number of Active Tips

Performance Influences cont

Reliability
Shock Tolerance
Increasing Actuator Force
Increasing Spring Force
Decreasing Sled Mass
Sled Failures
Number of Sleds
RAID

Applications
Cache for Disks
Replace Disks
Portable Devices
Increased Shock Tolerance
Speed
Power Consumption
Size
Cost over Non-Volatile Memory

Review
Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)

Conventional VLSI/CMOS Processes

Disk-to-Memory Performance Gap
Disk Cache / Replacement
Portable Devices

Sources
http://www.ece.cmu.edu/research/chips/
Carley, L.R. MEMS-Based Integrated-Circuit Mass-

Storage Systems. Communications of the ACM Vol.43,

No. 11 (2000) 73-80.

Griffin, John L. Modeling and Performance of MEMSBased Storage Devices. Carnegie Mellon U. 2000.

Schlosser, Steven W. Designing Computer Systems

with MEMS-based Storage. Carnegie Mellon U. 2000.