DESIGN TOOLS

NAND FLASH

Open NAND Flash Interface (ONFI)

ONFI is a collaboration among Micron and many other NAND flash suppliers, controller manufacturers and designers. The primary goal of the ONFI working group is to develop open standards for the interface used to communicate with NAND flash memory. 

ONFI advantages

ONFI standards increase compatibility and interoperability among conforming NAND devices from different vendors. This, in turn, increases the supply base for standard devices, reduces design time and speeds time to market.

Key features

  • Parameter page solves inconsistencies among devices by describing revision info, features, organization timing and other vendor-specific data
  • Asynchronous and source-synchronous support
  • Backward compatibility simplifies qualification for new NAND devices
  • Low-power DDR I/O
  • Scalability for high-density applications
  • Broad support from top-level companies, including Micron, Intel, Hynix, ST Microelectronics, Phison, Sony, and more than 60 others

Why use ONFI?

  • Faster, easier design-in: ONFI's parameter page provides the controller with all of the device's relevant capabilities for quicker design, qualification and testing.
  • Higher speeds: The bidirectional source-synchronous DQS and scalable I/O interface provide some of the fastest NAND data rates possible. And they make optimizing one NAND device (or ten) easy.
  • No requalification: Standardized compatibility enables pin and function drop-in compatibility and integration. ONFI-standardized devices can use the same firmware and software to avoid expensive driver testing.
  • Flexible packaging: ONFI's industry-standard BGA package accommodates both asynchronous and source-synchronous interfaces, reduces noise and offers excellent signal integrity.