Inquiry about the “Secure Erase” in Solidigm Synergy Toolkit

[Nuyoton]

Hello! I would like to know some technical details about the “Secure Erase” function in Solidigm Synergy Toolkit, and I wonder if you can answer my questions.

While using “Secure Erase”, I noticed that the drive returns to its original state immediately after running this command. On consumer SSDs this is manifested as all SLC Cache being freed, on enterprise SSDs this is manifested as the drive's write behavior returning to FOB state.

In the “Secure Erase”  document, “Secure Erase” is described as “A Secure Erase, by default, erases that crypto key (and immediately makes a new/different one). Your data is still there, but it is now virtually useless as the key to decrypt is lost.”
Does this mean that the “secure erase” in the Solidigm Synergy Toolkit simply resets the FTL? If so, why is it possible to restore the NAND to its original state even though there is still data in it? If not, then why is it possible to do a “Full 0” write so quickly? Or did it simply release all the electrons from the Cell?

And I also found out that the above operation is possible on Solidigm drives, but also on other brands of drives such as UMIS, Memblaze, SK Hynix. Does this mean that this “erases that crypto key (and immediately makes a new/different one).” process is universal? What is its implementation?

Please forgive me for asking so many questions.

I look forward to your  reply.

[SolidigmGleb]

Hello Nuyoton,

Thank you for your questions about the "Secure Erase" function in our Solidigm Synergy Toolkit. "Secure Erase" resets the Flash Translation Layer (FTL), clearing the mapping table and generating a new encryption key, which makes the data inaccessible and returns the drive to a fresh state.

This method is standard across many modern SSDs, including brands like UMIS, Memblaze, and SK Hynix, although specific implementations can vary.

For additional details, please refer to the Read Me/Guide included with the Solidigm Synergy Toolkit. If you have further questions after reviewing the guide, don't hesitate to let us know, and we can provide more specific support or escalate your inquiry as needed.

Best regards,

Gleb

Solidigm Community Support