Method and apparatus of performing graceful thermal shutdown in solid state drives

1. A method for thermal shutdown of a storage device, comprising:

determining that a temperature of the storage device is approaching a critical temperature;

disabling input power to the storage device upon determining that the temperature is approaching the critical temperature;

when the input power to the storage device is disabled, powering the storage device with auxiliary power; and

under the auxiliary power, transferring data from a buffer in the storage device to a memory of the storage device,

wherein

the input power is disabled prior to the storage device reaching the critical temperature, and

the data is transferred during a time margin before the storage device reaches the critical temperature.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining comprises determining for the critical temperature an absolute maximum smart temperature AMST for the storage device.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the AMST is calculated based on scaling respective maximum temperatures of respective storage device components of the storage device.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the AMST is calculated based on the following:

AMST

=

a

0

⁢

T

0

+

a

1

⁢

T

1

+

a

2

⁢

T

2

+

…

+

a

N

⁢

T

N

+

α

where a 0 , a 1 , a 2 . . . a N are constants, T 0 , T 1 , T 2 . . . T N are the respective actual maximum temperatures of the respective storage device components of the storage device, and α is a constant.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the disabling the input power occurs when the temperature of the storage device ranges from 70% to 90% of the AMST.

6. The method of claim 2 , wherein the disabling the input power occurs when the temperature of the storage device ranges from 80% to 95% of the AMST.

7. The method of claim 2 , wherein the disabling the input power occurs when a predicted time before reaching the AMST provides a duration for transfer of the data.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the powering storage device with auxiliary power comprises powering the storage device with power from power loss protection capacitors.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transferring data comprises transferring the data to a flash media comprising the memory, thereby protecting the data from loss.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the disabling input power to the storage device, the powering the storage device with auxiliary power, and the transferring data from a buffer in the storage device to a memory of the storage device protects components of the storage device from over-heating damage while preventing loss of the data.

11. A system for thermal shutdown of a storage device comprising:

a control circuit for controlling the thermal shutdown of the storage device, wherein the control circuit is configured to:

determine that a temperature of the storage device is approaching a critical temperature;

disable input power to the storage device upon determining that the temperature is approaching the critical temperature;

when the input power to the storage device is disabled, power the storage device with auxiliary power; and

under the auxiliary power, transfer data from a buffer in the storage device to a memory of the storage device,

wherein

the input power is disabled prior to the storage device reaching the critical temperature, and

the data is transferred during a time margin before the storage device reaches the critical temperature.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuit is configured to determine for the critical temperature an absolute maximum smart temperature AMST for the storage device.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the AMST is calculated based on scaling respective maximum temperatures of respective storage device components of the storage device.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the AMST is calculated based on the following:

AMST

=

a

0

⁢

T

0

+

a

1

⁢

T

1

+

a

2

⁢

T

2

+

…

+

a

N

⁢

T

N

+

α

where a 0 , a 1 , a 2 . . . a N are constants, T 0 , T 1 , T 2 . . . T N are the respective actual maximum temperatures of the respective storage device components of the storage device, and α is a constant.

15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the control circuit is configured to disable the input power when the temperature of the storage device ranges from 70% to 90% of the AMST.

16. The system of claim 12 , wherein the control circuit is configured to disable the input power when the temperature of the storage device ranges from 80% to 95% of the AMST.

17. The system of claim 12 , wherein the control circuit is configured to disable the input power when a predicted time before reaching the absolute temperature provides a duration for transfer of the data.

18. The system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuit is configured to power the storage device with power from power loss protection capacitors.

19. The system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuit is configured to transfer the data to a flash media comprising the memory, thereby protecting the data from loss.

20. A control for thermal shutdown of a storage device, comprising:

a controller configured to:

determine that a temperature of the storage device is approaching a critical temperature;

disable input power to the storage device upon determining that the temperature is approaching the critical temperature;

when the input power to the storage device is disabled, power the storage device with auxiliary power; and

under the auxiliary power, transfer data from a buffer in the storage device to a memory of the storage device,

wherein

the input power is disabled prior to the storage device reaching the critical temperature, and

the data is transferred during a time margin before the storage device reaches the critical temperature.