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How do SSDs Work? | How does your Smartphone store data? | Insanely Complex Nanoscopic Structures!

Branch Education・2 minutes read

Smartphones and solid-state drives use VNAND structures to store data, while pictures are made up of pixels represented by combinations of 3 numbers in binary. Memory cells in these devices can hold multiple levels of electrons, allowing for efficient storage of information.

Insights

  • VNAND structures in smartphones and solid-state drives use charge trap flash memory cells to store data, with each cell capable of holding 3 bits of information due to 8 electron levels, organized in vertical strings and pages within memory chips.
  • Images captured by a 12-megapixel camera translate to 293 million bits of data, with each pixel requiring 24 bits to define its color through combinations of red, green, and blue values, showcasing the intricate binary-based storage and representation of visual information.

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Recent questions

  • How do smartphones store data?

    Smartphones store data using structures called VNAND that hold information in memory cells known as charge trap flash.

  • What defines the color of a pixel in a picture?

    Each pixel in a picture is defined by a combination of 3 numbers representing red, green, and blue, each requiring 8 bits in binary.

  • How many bits are needed to define a pixel's color in a picture?

    Each pixel in a picture needs 24 bits to define its color, stored as an array of bits in the computer.

  • How many bits are required to store information from a 12-megapixel camera?

    A 12-megapixel camera captures images with 12 million pixels, requiring 293 million bits to store the information.

  • How fast can a single microchip read or write data?

    A single microchip, found in smartphones and solid-state drives, can read or write at a rate of around 500 megabytes per second, containing arrays of 3D memory cells.

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Summary

00:00

"Data Storage in Smartphones and SSDs"

  • Smartphones and solid-state drives store data using structures called VNAND that hold information in memory cells known as charge trap flash.
  • Every picture is made up of pixels, with each pixel defined by a combination of 3 numbers representing red, green, and blue, each requiring 8 bits in binary.
  • A picture consists of a grid of colored pixels, with each pixel needing 24 bits to define its color, stored as an array of bits in the computer.
  • A 12-megapixel camera captures images with 12 million pixels, requiring 293 million bits to store the information.
  • Charge trap flash memory cells can hold 8 different levels of electrons, allowing for the storage of 3 bits of information in a single cell.
  • Memory cells are stacked vertically into strings of 10 cells each, duplicated into pages of 32 strings in a row, forming a block of 6 rows.
  • The memory cells are organized with bitline selectors and control gate selectors to read or write information from a single page at a time.
  • Manufacturers utilize memory chips with around 96 to 136 layers, each page containing 30,000 to 60,000 adjacent memory cells.
  • A single microchip, found in smartphones and solid-state drives, can read or write at a rate of around 500 megabytes per second, containing arrays of 3D memory cells.
  • Engineers stack 8 of these chips into a single microchip, coordinated by an interface chip at the bottom, to maximize storage capacity in a compact space.

17:23

"Solid-State Drive Explained: Subscribe, Share, Reflect"

  • Subscribe and hit the bell for notifications on new branch episodes about solid-state drives and other topics
  • Share the video to spread knowledge on how solid-state drives work
  • Reflect on the conceptual simplicity and structural complexity of the world around you
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