FAILSAFE POWER MANAGEMENT TO AVOID SHORT-CIRCUITING FROM WATER DAMAGE IN SOLID STATE DRIVE USING CONDUCTIVITY DETECTOR

1 . A data storage device, comprising:

a non-volatile memory (NVM) array mounted on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) using a first surface mount package (SMP);

one or more processors mounted on the PCB using a second SMP and in communication with the NVM array;

a sensor mounted adjacent to one or both of the first SMP and the second SMP;

a detector configured to detect an electrically-conducting liquid using the sensor; and

wherein the one or more processors are configured, individually or in combination, to activate a failsafe processing mode in response to the detection of the electrically-conducting liquid.

2 . The data storage device of claim 1 ,

wherein the sensor comprises at least one resistive linear strip; and

wherein the detector comprises a conductivity detector coupled to the at least one resistive linear strip.

3 . The data storage device of claim 2 , wherein the at least one resistive linear strip has a first portion adjacent to the first SMP and a second portion adjacent to the second SMP.

4 . The data storage device of claim 2 , wherein the conductivity detector is configured to detect the electrically-conducting liquid by being further configured to detect aqueous metal ions based on electrical resistance signals received from the at least one resistive linear strip.

5 . The data storage device of claim 4 , wherein the conductivity detector is configured to detect the aqueous metal ions by being further configured to:

receive the electrical resistance signals from the at least one resistive linear strip;

convert the electrical resistance signals to resistivity values;

convert the resistivity values to conductivity values; and

compare the conductivity values to one or more conductivity thresholds indicative of the presence of aqueous metal ions.

6 . The data storage device of claim 5 , further comprising a temperature sensor, and wherein the conductivity detector is further configured to adjust the conductivity values based on temperature values measured by the temperature sensor.

7 . The data storage device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured, in response to activation of the failsafe processing mode, to deactivate a power supply that provides power to the NVM array.

8 . The data storage device of claim 7 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to reactivate the power supply in response to detection by the detector of an amount of the electrically-conducting liquid decreasing below a threshold indicative of a sufficient amount of drying.

9 . The data storage device of claim 7 , wherein the power is provided by a host.

10 . The data storage device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured, in response to activation of the failsafe processing mode, to send a signal to a host to request shutdown of the host.

11 . The data storage device of claim 10 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to send a signal to the host to request reactivation of the host in response to detection by the detector of an amount of the electrically-conducting liquid decreasing below a threshold indicative of a sufficient amount of drying.

12 . The data storage device of claim 1 , further comprising a secondary power supply that remains active during the failsafe processing mode to provide power to at least the detector.

13 . The data storage device of claim 1 , wherein the data storage device comprises a solid state device (SSD) in the M.2 form factor.

14 . The data storage device of claim 1 , wherein one or both of the first SMP and the second SMP comprises a ball grid array (BGA).

15 . A data storage device, comprising:

a non-volatile memory (NVM) array mounted to a printed circuit board (PCB);

a resistive strip mounted to the PCB;

a conductivity detector coupled to the resistive strip; and

one or more processors configured, individually or in combination, to:

receive signals from the conductivity detector indicating whether an amount of metal ions in a liquid touching the resistive strip exceeds an impurity threshold;

deactivate a power supply of the data storage device in response to the amount of metal ions in the liquid exceeding the impurity threshold; and

reactivate the power supply in response to the amount of metal ions in the liquid subsequently no longer exceeding the impurity threshold.

16 . The data storage device of claim 15 , wherein the conductivity detector is configured to detect the metal ions by being further configured to:

receive electrical resistance signals from the resistive strip;

convert the electrical resistance signals to resistivity values;

convert the resistivity values to conductivity values; and

compare the conductivity values to one or more conductivity thresholds indicative of the presence of metal ions in the liquid.

17 . The data storage device of claim 16 , further comprising a temperature sensor, and wherein the conductivity detector is further configured to adjust the conductivity values based on temperature values measured by the temperature sensor.

18 . The data storage device of claim 15 , wherein the resistive strip has a portion adjacent to the NVM array.

19 . The data storage device of claim 15 , further comprising a data storage controller, and

wherein the resistive strip has a portion adjacent to the data storage controller, and

wherein the data storage device comprises a solid state device (SSD) in the M.2 form factor.

20 . A data storage device, comprising:

means for detecting aqueous metal ions within the data storage device;

means determining whether the aqueous metal ions exceed an impurity threshold;

means for deactivating a power supply of the data storage device in response to the aqueous metal ions exceeding the impurity threshold; and

means for reactivating the power supply in response to the aqueous metal ions no longer exceeding the impurity threshold.