M.2 Moving Toward Gen 4 Gen 5 and How M.2 Socket Development

M.2 Development

M.2 was initially created to replace mSATA and Mini PCI Express interfaces, and now has been widely used as the interconnection for PCIe, DisplayPort, USB 3.0 and many other extension interfaces. In Q4 2020, PCI-SIG published M.2 Gen 4 (16 GT/s) Standard Version 1.0 on both sockets and modules. Shortly after, they also released M.2 Gen 5 (32 GT/s) proposed solution this April, and foresee that M.2 Gen 5 to determine update version by end of 2021.

Regarding to application, Intel expects to announce Alder Lake and Eagle Stream CPU this year; meanwhile AMD prepares to launch Raphael Zen 4 and EPYC Genoa CPU by early 2022, which all support DDR5 & PCIe 5.0 (Gen 5) platform on PCs and server respectively. Argosy’s M.2 sockets have participated in Intel’s foldable laptop POC (Proof of Concept) from Horseshoe Bend with Tight Lake to the upcoming POC with Alder Lake, both serving as single source.

During this technology-evolving era toward Gen 4 & Gen 5, Argosy provides you the latest electronics design choices- M.2 Gen 4/5, DDR5, Type-C USB4 & Thunderbolt 4 connectors.

Time to launch next-gen product design with Argosy, and here are two reasons to use Argosy’s M.2 sockets.

1. Cutting-Edge Performance- Gen 4 achieved & Gen 5 anticipating

We are proud to share that there are over 50 specification combination of M.2 sockets been approved to achieve the latest signal integrity performance and power supply requirement of Gen 4 (16 GT/s) requirement.

According to M.2 Gen 4 Version 1.0, connectors are recommended to change footprint to meet Gen 4 threshold. Additionally, PCI-SIG enhanced Gen 4 standard again on power capacity standard in 2Q 2021 for future application requirement. Currently M.2 sockets are defined as Socket 1, 2 and 3 by its applications, key options and maximum powers.

Socket 1: apply on connectivity socket for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC or Wi-Gig; using A or E keys, with power supply up to 6.6W max.

Socket 2: apply on WWAN, GNSS, SSD or other as-yet-undefined solutions; using B or M keys, with power supply up to 8.25W max.

Socket 3: apply on SSD Drive Socket with SATA or up to four PCIe lanes; using M key, with power supply up to 11.55W max.

Apart from current M.2 Gen 4, we are dedicated to break through high-end technology. The 10.0H of M.2 Gen 4 will be launched by 4Q 2021, and 4.0H/ 6.7H/ 8.5H of M.2 Gen 5 will be introduced by early 2022.

2. Mass Production & Comprehensive Spec Mix- yearly shipment 200KKpcs in 2020

We launched first M.2 socket in 2014. Through consistently developing diverse specifications, we increased our global laptop market share drastically, from 30% in 2016 (yearly shipment 80KKpcs) to 51% in 2020 (yearly shipment 200KKpcs). We also work closely with server and IPC brands to expand markets to enterprise-level, industrial and military applications. Until today, our M.2 sockets are mass-produced in both Kunshan and Suining factories, and achieve 20KKpcs monthly capacity and continue to increase.

Besides, we believe our M.2 the most comprehensive spec mix among worldwide makers. Over 50 spec achieve Gen 4; over 150 spec meet Gen 3, and more than 20 spec of Mini PCIe, where engineers can easily adopt and apply on high-density storage, ultra-thin device, high-performance computing, or various wireless connectivity equipment.

Socket Type	PCB Mounting	Orientation	Pin	Pitch	Key	Height (mm)
M.2 Gen 4	SMT / Hybrid	Standard / Reverse Right Angle	67	0.5	A, B, E, M	Top-mount 2.0/ 2.65/ 3.0/ 3.2/ 3.5/ 4.0/ 4.8/ 5.0/ 5.8/ 6.4/ 6.7/ 8.5 Mid-mount 1.2/ 1.35
M.2 Gen 3						Top-mount (same as M.2 Gen 4) Mid-mount 1.2/ 1.3/ 1.35/ 1.4/ 1.5/ 1.63/ 1.7/ 1.8/ 2.05/ 2.15
Mini PCIe	SMT / Hybrid	Standard / Reverse Right Angle	52	0.8	NA	Top-mount 3.2/ 4.0/ 4.5/ 5.2/ 5.7/ 6.7/ 6.8/ 8.0/ 9.0/ 11.0 Mid-mount 1.7/ 2.35/ 2.45

Upcoming products: M.2 Gen 4 10.0H; M.2 Gen 5 4.0H/ 6.7H/ 8.5H

To sum up, we demonstrate excellent design, manufacture and management capability to serve global customers with leading performance, reliable quality and stable delivery.

Contact us for spec detail, test reports, samples or market study report.