ST intros T90 system-on-chip hard drive

Semiconductor firm STMicroelectronics today revealed its design and manufacturing capability for hard disk drive system-on-chip devices using 90nm fabrication techniques.

STMicroelectronics claimed that its latest device, integrating the company's technology in the hard disk controller, read channel, serial ATA interface and memory, is the first such product in the market to be manufactured in a 90nm process.

The T90 Read Channel intellectual property, developed by STMicroelectronics, supports data rates ranging from 300Mbps to 1.7Gbps for the 2.5in and 3.5in disk drives used in high-end mobile phones, desktop computers and servers.

The embedded hard disk controller, which manages the data flow and controls head positioning during track-and-seek operations, is based on ARM technology and features a 32-bit high-performance CPU core running at 450MHz.

"In-house development of the intellectual property for all the functions of the hard-disk drive system-on-chip places STMicroelectronics in the best position to satisfy the specific requirements of high-performance drive manufacturers," said Roberto Fantechi, general manager of the firm's Data Storage division.

"Now, with the first 90nm system-on-chip to reach the market, we can offer our customers increased functionality in the same silicon space as a result of the higher gate density, coupled with lower power requirement and cost."