TDK has announced that its HS1 series of SSDs is ready for shipment. The solid state drives are available in storage capacities of up to 64 GB and feature the GBDriver controller designed by TDK to ensure more data security. The original NAND flash memory control system was developed by TDK merely because of its wish to provide security and reliability adequate for memory systems. The company has managed to develop a controller able to provide high-speed storage functions, so the HS1 series of SSD is equipped with it.

The HS1 Series comes in capacities of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. The solid state drives have a 1.8-inch form factor, making them the smallest SSDs to feature a SATA interface. The HS1 Series are capable of reading data at a burst speed of 100 MB/s, and can write it at 50 MB/s burst write performance, and they also feature power management functions. TDK stressed that when in SATA slumber mode, the power consumption is just 20 mA.

On the inside, the SSDs feature the flash memory for data storage, a controller for the flash memory that makes the solid state drive appear as any PC hard disc drive, as well as its supporting circuits and mechanical components. The GBDriver HS1 SSD controller developed by TDK has been equipped for the first time on the new SSDs series, making them pioneers in the field.

The internal security system has been designed to encrypt data on the fly, while it is being transferred for storage on the flash memory, but it has no effect on the data transmission speeds within the SSD controller. The security system uses the 128-bit AES encryption method. The drives also feature a verification system that supports the access protection structures.

The designer of the HS1 series of SATA Solid State Drives is the Taipei-based CoreSolid Storage joint venture created by TDK and PQI. The manufacturing schedule reaches 10,000 units per month. The estimated prices rise up to $2,000 for the 64GB model, $1,500 for the 32GB one and $900 for the 16GB SSD.