NAND flash components provide a limited number of Program and Erase operations per single block. STEC is committed to using Single Level Cell (SLC). Different from Multi Level Cell (MLC) flash, SLC flash stores only one charge per cell. The cell can be either programmed or non-programmed. Thanks to its more robust design, SLC flash can achieve 10 times the number of Program/Erase operation of MLC flash, offering superior performance, reliability and power consumption. Moreover, the controller embedded in every STEC flash product performs extensive wear leveling to make sure that all blocks age at the same rate. The combination of STEC's wear-leveling algorithm, the EDC/ECC and BBM techniques, together with the usage of SLC flash, allows our products to provide over 2,000,000 Program/Erase operations per any single block of flash memory.

Due to cell architecture and the high internal programming voltage, NAND flash components are prone to fail. A bit in a page can flip, or in the worst case, can even generate invalid blocks, generally called "bad blocks". For most consumer applications, bit flips are acceptable. They are however totally unacceptable when it comes to storing precious data or when the flash is used to store code. A bit flip in code can result in a system crash. To overcome this problem, STEC is using extensive Error Detection and Correction (EDC/ECC) techniques, capable of detecting bit-flip and correcting them. The EDC/ECC is automatically executed by the controller embedded in any STEC flash product. On top of being able to correct errors, STEC controllers are also able to automatically manage bad blocks.

Unstable power supplies are the major cause of field failure for all storage systems. Often, when power goes below a certain threshold, the host starts sending corrupted data to the media until it stops operating. STEC flash products implement a revolutionary algorithm designed to prevent loss of data. If a power loss occurs, at the subsequent power-on the controller is able to check the drive for possible corruption and in the event that corruption has occurred, repair it by restoring the previous valid data. No data will be lost as a result of power failure, nor will the same drive be any more likely to experience corruption in the future.

In the rare case when a flash drive exceeds the maximum number of Program/Erase cycles, it will be possible to replace it with a new one. To avoid unscheduled down-time, STEC's Life Cycle Management provides the ability to read how many spare blocks are still available on the drive, so that one can define if and when it will be time to replace the drive before operation fails.

Whatever the required level of security in a given application, STEC has the right solution. STEC's TotalDriveProtection? is the industry's most comprehensive flash security system. Protect against authorized usage with Password read protection, or provide write privilege via password write protection on a selected partition of the drive. For mission critical applications securely erase the drive through one of the many PurgeProtect features offered, such as BasicPurge, RapidPurge, MilitaryPurge or CustomPurge. Moreover, advanced encryption techniques ensure that data is secure, even if it falls into the wrong hands.

Whether one needs to write small logging files or to achieve maximum sequential speed performance, STEC has the right solution to optimize performance in your application. For small write operations (512Bytes), STEC offers a "Small-Sector" option, specifically designed to improve performance for data logging applications or Operating Systems storage when frequent updates of the FAT table are needed. For video streaming needs, STEC offers the ZeusIOPS Enterprise Solid State Drive, a product delivering 200MB/s sequential read and 100MB/s sequential write. If IOPS (input-Output per second) matter, then the right solution is the ZeusIOPS SSD, featuring an impressive sustained 52,000 IOPS.