Technology & Life Testing

  SANDISK MEMORY VAULT TECHNOLOGY

As a leader in flash memory technology development, SanDisk has been in the forefront of developing advanced memory technology for over 20 years. For the SanDisk Memory Vault, SanDisk engineers have built on this success to create an archival storage device with the capability for long term data preservation.

The Memory Vault utilizes SanDisk’s proprietary Chronolock™ technology. Chronolock™ technology provides users with a digital memory vault tested to keep their most precious memories, at their original quality, for up to 100 years.

Test data collected during our verification process supports that this device is capable of up to 100 years of data retention under typical room temperature storage conditions, with humidity and static protection.

Data Retention Test Methodology

In order to have quantifiable data to show how this device can support up to 100 years of data retention, accelerated temperature cycling and the Arrhenius acceleration factor was used to simulate the effects on data retention over long durations of memory usage.The Arrhenius equation expresses the relationship between the rate constant (or acceleration factor) and the activation energy and temperature of a reaction.

Figure 1. Arrhenius Equation

For the purposes of the data retention test for the SanDisk Memory Vault, the following temperatures and activation energies were used:

Ea = Activation Energy = 1.0 ev

Boltzmann Constant = 8.62*10-5

Product application temperature used for this test (Ta) = 40ºC

Product test temperature used for this test (Tt) = 125ºC

Product’s time-to-failure is exponentialArrhenius Acceleration Factor = 2721

The activation energy used in these calculations is a conservative value of well-known industry standard numbers. Additionally, higher stress was introduced on the product by taking a conservative assumption of 40ºC application temperature in the model, which is higher than the typical archival storage temperature of 25°C +/- 10°C.

Temperature cycling tests were performed on 30 separate devices for 336 hours at an accelerated temperature of 125°C. Data was then verified to remain unchanged. After applying the Arrhenius equation, as the table below shows, the Memory Vault is shown to be capable of supporting up to 104 years of data retention.

After capturing your most precious moments, whether they’re graduation photographs or wedding videos, have the peace of mind that they will be stored in their original format for generations to come. Extensive data retention test results and over 20 years of memory management experience show that you can trust SanDisk to deliver the solutions to preserve your memories.


 Table 1. Data Retention Test Results

 Device

 App Test  Temperature

 Ambient  Temperature

 Hours Tested /  Unit

 Arrhenius  Acceleration  Factor

 Equivalent  Hours

 Equivalent  Years

 Memory Vault

 125degC

 40degC

 336

 2,721

 914,256

 104