Design of a TLM NAND flash controller model for audio real-time applications

The widespread use of electronic equipments such as smartphones, tablets and digital cameras is largely contributing to the relentless progress of memories devices based on nonvolatile flash technology. Volatile memories, typically based on DRAM technology, are characterized by higher cost and performance when compared to non-volatile memories; in the design of an electronic device it is important to balance the utilization of these two storage solutions to meet different needs in terms of processing speed and long-term data retention. This paper reports the development of the system-level model of a controller capable of optimizing the use of NAND type flash memories, for the storage and the playback of audio samples in real-time music applications; the aim is the reduction of the quantity of system SDRAM memory thus lowering the cost of the final product, while still providing the user with the most high-fidelity sound experience.