Innovative adaptations of commercial flash memories for military systems

The advantages of using a commercial-grade component in military systems are cost and availability. This perception, coupled with the idea that commercial components adequately meet the quality and reliability requirements of the military systems marketplace, tempts the military system designer to utilize commercial components. The disadvantages of this practice far outweigh the advantages. This paper discusses these disadvantages by comparing the device performance of commercial grade components and of those adapted for the military systems marketplace. A comparison of cost, availability, and quality is discussed in great detail. Using flash memory as a vehicle, data will be presented, which compares commercial flash memories and adapted flash memories. Adapted flash memories are commercial flash memory components specially configured and screened for military operating environments. This supports the commercial-of-the-shelf (COTS) trends in the military marketplace. Data will be presented showing specific examples of the improvements and the device performance gained when using adapted flash memories. Characteristics of these devices include device optimization at temperature extremes, and implementations of innovative test techniques.