Flash memory IC damage reason

[leo_o2]

Would you please explain main flash damage reason and how to avoid flash IC damage in design?

 

[erikl]

Main flash damage reason: ESD damage during handling

How to avoid flash IC damage by design: better ESD protection; higher voltage resp. energy endurance, needs more silicon real estate.

 

[dick_freebird]

Write process details are critical to holding off wearout, my
small experience with flash (really EEPROM) cell characterization
says that write time and voltage are very strong reliability
(retention / wearout) accelerators. You would probably want
to be real sure that, for example, the write supply voltage
is reliably within spec (or even skewed to the more reliable
end of spec) and similarly write cycle timing (although these
also interplay, to retention time via the written charge total).
Going too low will give you a soft retention failure while too
high will give you permanent degradation.

 

[leo_o2]

I heard usb flash disk might be damaged if it is pulled out (disconnected from power supply) when it was under writing.
What's the reason?
Thanks.

 

[erikl]

That's the same for any memory device: pulling out during writing at least corrupts the file currently to be written, and the memory administration, i.e. the contents directory which contains the pointers to the stored files. The memory itself isn't necessarily destroyed, but its directory probably is corrupt.