JMicron Technology Corporation () is a Taiwanese
fabless
Fabless manufacturing is the design and sale of hardware devices and semiconductor chips while outsourcing their fabrication (or ''fab'') to a specialized manufacturer called a semiconductor foundry. These foundries are typically, but not exclus ...
technology design house based in
Hsinchu
Hsinchu (, Chinese: 新竹, Pinyin: ''Xīnzhú'', Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a city located in northwestern Taiwan. It is the most populous city in Taiwan Province not among the special municipalities, with estimated 450,655 inhabi ...
, Taiwan. As a manufacturer of
integrated circuits
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...
, they produce controller chips for bridge devices.
History
2001-2007
The company was founded in September 2001 and its headquarters is in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The company also operates an advanced
R&D center based out of
Irvine,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, United States.
In 2002, the company began development of their
USB 2.0
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...
to
SATA
SATA (Serial AT Attachment) is a computer bus interface that connects host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives, optical drives, and solid-state drives. Serial ATA succeeded the earlier Parallel ATA (PATA) standard to ...
bridge controller technology.
[JMicron Technology Corp]
/ref>
JMicron began developing SSD technology in 2006, launching their first generation SSD controller, the JMF601A/602A, towards the end of 2007. JMicron's SSD controller
Controller may refer to:
Occupations
* Controller or financial controller, or in government accounting comptroller, a senior accounting position
* Controller, someone who performs agent handling in espionage
* Air traffic controller, a person ...
was widely adopted by many SSD manufacturers such ASUS, Corsair
A corsair is a privateer or pirate, especially:
* Barbary corsair, Ottoman and Berber pirates and privateers operating from North Africa
* French corsairs, privateers operating on behalf of the French crown
Corsair may also refer to:
Arts and ...
, OCZ
OCZ was a brand of Toshiba that was used for some of its solid-state drives (SSDs) before they were rebranded with Toshiba. OCZ Storage Solutions was a manufacturer of SSDs based in San Jose, California, USA and was the new company formed after ...
, and Transcend. JMicron was one of the first companies to provide an SSD controller chip to these companies, allowing them to produce reasonably priced SSDs. Unfortunately the SSD controller did not have any support for DRAM cache, and with the NAND technology available at the time this made random writes very slow (the JMF602B improved this only slightly)
2008 to Present
Also in 2008, JMicron showcased a number of peripheral products. This includes the JMB353, a hi-speed USB & IEEE 1394a
IEEE 1394 is an interface standard for a serial bus for high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data transfer. It was developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s by Apple in cooperation with a number of companies, primarily Sony an ...
to SATA II external HDD controller chip; this device was the first to feature an integrated IEEE 1394a PHY
PHY is an abbreviation for the physical layer of the OSI model and refers to the circuitry required to implement physical layer functions.
PHY or Phy may also refer to:
* Phy, the drug methadone
* Phetchabun Airport (IATA code), Thailand
See ...
chip. Also included in the showcase is the JMB38x series, a PCIe
PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express), officially abbreviated as PCIe or PCI-e, is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard, designed to replace the older PCI, PCI-X and AGP bus standards. It is the common mo ...
to card reader
A card reader is a data input device that reads data from a card-shaped storage medium. The first were punched card readers, which read the paper or cardboard punched cards that were used during the first several decades of the computer industry ...
& 1394 controller chip, the JMB211, a Gigabit Ethernet
In computer networking, Gigabit Ethernet (GbE or 1 GigE) is the term applied to transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of a gigabit per second. The most popular variant, 1000BASE-T, is defined by the IEEE 802.3ab standard. It came into use i ...
PHY controller chip, the JMB352, a high-speed USB & eSATA
SATA (Serial AT Attachment) is a computer bus interface that connects host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives, optical drives, and solid-state drives. Serial ATA succeeded the earlier Parallel ATA (PATA) standard t ...
to 2-port SATA II external HDD controller chip, and the JMB325, a 1- to 5-port SATA II port multiplier
A Serial ATA port multiplier (SATA PM) is a device that allows multiple SATA devices to be connected to a single SATA host port. Many common controllers do not support this feature, as it is not a requirement for a SATA controller.
Benefits
Port ...
with hardware RAID
Raid, RAID or Raids may refer to:
Attack
* Raid (military), a sudden attack behind the enemy's lines without the intention of holding ground
* Corporate raid, a type of hostile takeover in business
* Panty raid, a prankish raid by male college ...
.
In 2009, the JMF612 was released. It saw popularity throughout 2010 in its use in a number of industry SSDs. In particular, 2009 was a landmark year for JMicron, in that the company achieved the top ranking as a supplier for external HDD and SATA-PATA bridge controllers, shipping roughly 35 million and 15 million units, respectively.
In October 2010, JMicron was scheduled to list on the Taiwanese Gre Tai Securities Market
Taipei Exchange (), formerly the Gre Tai Securities Market (GTSM), is a foundation which is organized for serving the over-the-counter (OTC) market and bond trading of Taiwan. It was formally founded on 1 November 1994. The initial fund of the foun ...
(GTSM). Also in 2010, a Gartner
Gartner, Inc is a technological research and consulting firm based in Stamford, Connecticut that conducts research on technology and shares this research both through private consulting as well as executive programs and conferences. Its clients ...
tandem research report reveals JMicron to be first in interface controller chip market share.[JMicron Technology showcase a variety of storage controller chip in International Computer Show]
/ref> In 2010 stolen private keys certificates were used to digitally sign rootkit drivers in Stuxnet
Stuxnet is a malicious computer worm first uncovered in 2010 and thought to have been in development since at least 2005. Stuxnet targets supervisory control and data acquisition ( SCADA) systems and is believed to be responsible for causing su ...
virus.
After developing its own physical layer and high speed technology over the preceding years because of flat growth in the long term, JMicron diversifies from the base notebook and motherboard controller business. 2011 is characterized by JMicron winning orders from Western Digital
Western Digital Corporation (WDC, commonly known as Western Digital or WD) is an American computer drive manufacturer and data storage company, headquartered in San Jose, California. It designs, manufactures and sells data technology produc ...
and Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (, sometimes shortened to SEC and stylized as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is the pinnacle of ...
for JMicron's USB 3.0
USB 3.0, released in November 2008, is the third major version of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard for interfacing computers and electronic devices. Among other improvements, USB 3.0 adds the new transfer rate referred to as '' ...
HDD controller, with net sales projected to grow 10%.
In late 2011, the JMF661 was released as a third generation JMicron SSD controller, and it was shown to be an effective entry-level product. Shortly thereafter, in 2013, the JMF667 series was released as a 256 GB capacity, 512 MB DDR3
Double Data Rate 3 Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DDR3 SDRAM) is a type of synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM) with a high bandwidth (" double data rate") interface, and has been in use since 2007. It is the higher-spee ...
external cache SSD controller. Analysis in 2013 reveals that SSD controller technology and high-speed transmission interface IC accounts for 29% and 67% of JMicron's sales, respectively.
In June 2014, JMicron announced the JMF670 and JMF670H. Both are 4-channel SATA SSD controllers capable of supporting up to 512 GB of storage capacity. Production was to begin in July 2014. In the same announcement, they showcased the JMF810, a PCIe Gen II 2-lane controller, and the JMF811, a PCIe Gen II 4-lane SSD controller. These controllers are designed for speeds of up to 1.5 GB/s in sequential read and 1.2 GB/s in sequential write. Another announcement was the JMS577, which is a USB 3.0 to SATA VI Gb/s bridge controller. The company also showcased their USB 3.1
USB 3.0, released in November 2008, is the third major version of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard for interfacing computers and electronic devices. Among other improvements, USB 3.0 adds the new transfer rate referred to as '' ...
technology, which is expected to achieve data transmission speeds of 10 Gbit/s—doubling the speed of the previous USB Gen III controller. Among these announcements included a single-chip, dual-port SATA III RAID/CLONE program within the JMS561/562/561U product line.
Throughout 2014, JMicron's JMF667H was reviewed by a number of online review sites like Tom's Hardware
''Tom's Hardware'' is an online publication owned by Future plc and focused on technology. It was founded in 1996 by Thomas Pabst. It provides articles, news, price comparisons, videos and reviews on computer hardware and high technology. The si ...
, AnandTech
''AnandTech'' is an online computer hardware magazine owned by Future plc. It was founded in 1997 by then-14-year-old Anand Lal Shimpi, who served as CEO and editor-in-chief until August 30, 2014, with Ryan Smith replacing him as editor-in-chief ...
, and TweakTown.
In June 2016, JMicron spun off its SSD division to Maxiotek Corporation, a Taiwan-based company which designs and markets SSD controller products. Meanwhile, JMicron released the JMS576, its first USB-C
USB-C (properly known as USB Type-C) is a 24-pin USB connector system with a rotationally symmetrical connector. The designation C refers only to the connector's physical configuration or form factor and should not be confused with the conne ...
USB 3.1 Gen 1 to SATA 6Gbit/s bridge controller.
Products
USB Bridge controller
USB-multi-interfaces
*JMS581: USB3.2 Gen2x1 to SD7.x / PCIe / SATA
USB-UFS
*JMS901: USB 3.2 Gen1 to UFS 2.1/ UHS-1
USB-SATA
*JMS591: USB3.2 Gen2x2 to 5x SATA 6Gb/s (RAID 0/1/5/10/JBOD)
*JMS580: USB 3.2 Gen2 to SATA 6Gb/s
*JMS578: USB 3.0 to SATA 6Gb/s
*JMS576: USB 3.2 Gen1 to SATA 6Gb/s
*JMS562: USB 3.0 & eSATA 6Gb/s to Dual SATA 6Gb/s (RAID 0/1/JBOD)
*JMS561U: USB 3.0 to Dual SATA 6Gb/s (CLONE)
*JMS561: USB 3.0 to Dual SATA 6Gb/s (RAID 0/1/JBOD)
*JM20337: USB 2.0 to SATA/PATA
*JM20329: USB 2.0 to SATA
USB-PCIe
*JMS586: USB 3.2 Gen2x2 to PCIe/NVMe Gen3x4
*JMS583: USB 3.2 Gen2 to PCIe/NVMe Gen3x2
PCIe Bridge Controller
PCIe-PATA (IDE)
*JMB361: PCIe 1.0a x1 to 1x Serial ATA II and 1x PATA UDMA/100 channel
*JMB363: PCIe 1.0a x1 to 2x Serial ATA II and 1x PATA UDMA/100 channel
*JMB368: PCIe 1.0a x1 to 1x PATA UDMA/100 channel
PCIe-SATA
*JMB585: PCIe Gen3x2 to 5x SATA 6Gb/s
*JMB582: PCIe Gen3x1 to 2x SATA 6Gb/s
M.2 controller
* JMF670H: NAND flash controller for M.2 SSD
SATA Bridge Controller
SATA-SATA
*JMB575: 1 to 5-port SATA 6Gb/s Port Multiplier or 5 to 1-port SATA 6Gb/s Port Selector
*JMB572: 1 to 2-port SATA 6Gb/s Port Multiplier or 2 to 1-port SATA 6Gb/s Port Selector
*JMB394: 1 to 5-port SATA 3Gb/s Port Multiplier (RAID 0/1/5/10/JBOD / CLONE with LCM interfaces)
*JMB393: 1 to 5-port SATA 3Gb/s Port Multiplier (RAID 0/1/5/10/JBOD/CLONE)
*JMB391: 1 to 5-ports SATA 3Gb/s Port Multiplier (RAID 0/1/10/JBOD)
*JMB390: 1 to 2-port SATA 3Gb/s Port Multiplier (RAID 0/1/JBOD)
SATA-PATA
*JMD330: SATA to PATA
*JMH330/S: PATA to SATA
Market Reception
When flash controller
A flash memory controller (or flash controller) manages data stored on flash memory (usually NAND flash) and communicates with a computer or electronic device. Flash memory controllers can be designed for operating in low duty-cycle environments l ...
s were first offered to SSD manufacturers in 2008, JMicron's early JMF601 and JMF602 models were reported to have issues with write latency, causing a stuttering problem. The performance problem was attributed to the small buffer size used in the controller. After several corrective releases, JMicron released the JMF667H, which to date has received generally positive reviews, being cited as both competitive and budget-friendly when used with the correct type of NAND. For instance, when paired with Toshiba's A19 NAND, the JMF667H has been shown to be capable of achieving the following metrics: 500 MB/s for 128 KB sequential read, 450 MB/s for 128 KB sequential write, and reaching 80,000 4 KB IOPS for both random read and write.[JMicron Returns: The JMF667H Controller On Four Reference SSDs by Christopher Ryan]
/ref> The JMF667H has also been found to have very low power consumption, with active idle power consumption in the 0.2-0.4 W range depending on the capacity of the controller, as well as an average power consumption rating of 0.36-0.78 W when examined in PCMark
PCMark is a computer benchmark tool developed by UL (formerly Futuremark) to test the performance of a PC at the system and component level. In most cases, the tests in PCMark are designed to represent typical home user workloads. Running PCMar ...
7. Certain drives driven by the JMF667H controller, such as the Kingfast C-Drive F8, have achieved high scores on independent review sites—for example, 90% on TweakTown.Kingfast C-Drive F8 Series 240GB SSD Review - Cheapest tested 240GB drive so far - Final Thoughts
/ref>
See also
* List of companies of Taiwan
Taiwan maintains a stable industrial economy as a result of economic growth and industrialization during the late 20th century, being dubbed as one of the Four Asian Tigers along with Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea. It is a member of both ...
References
External links
JMicron official website
{{Solid-state Drive
Electronics companies established in 2001
Electronics companies of Taiwan
Taiwanese companies established in 2001