SIP Technology
Now normally a flash drive consist of several parts, like the USB controller, the flash memory and perhaps some other odds and ends. In this case however they wanted to make a very small flash drive and have chose a different approach called System-In-Package or SIP. The following quote is what I found on the technology.
"A System-in-a-Package or System in Package (SiP) is a number of integrated circuits enclosed in a single package or module. The SiP performs all or most of the functions of an electronic system such as a mobile phone, PC, digital music player, etc. The chips may be stacked vertically or placed horizontally alongside one another inside the package. They are internally connected by fine wires that are buried in the package, or using solder bumps to join them together, so-called flip-chip technology.
A SiP can contain several silicon components (dies) and passive components all mounted on the same substrate, for example a specialized processor can be combined at chip level with DRAM, flash memory and resistors/capacitors. This means that a complete functional unit can be built in a chip package, so that few external components need to be added to make it work. This is particularly valuable in space constrained environments like MP3 players and mobile phones as it reduces the complexity of the PCB and overall design."
Reading the above, you can imagine how they got the Petito as small as it is right now. All the necessary components are stacked or placed along side each other, as much as the room allows it. This might explain why the drive doesn't have an activity LED or a write protect switch. These are functions that are optional and are the first to go when you need to make decisions on what to include.
The way ATP packages their flash drives is to encapsulate the core components. So after stacking the components and wire bonding them the right way it gets encapsulated or sealed off. This prevents things like dust, water, shock and even ESD to reach it. What in term means that the drives are more durable and resistant to outside influences then most other drives. If you look at the environment specifications you can see they are extreme. The drive can withstand temperatures up to 70 degrees Celsius and humidity from 8% to 85%, none condensing and take shocks up to 2,000 G Maximum. That's very impressive to say the least.
If you would like to read about USB drives in general or about the components themselves you can use the links I have used to research this information. Check out the links below to find the information.
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