Microsemi has announced the launch of a solid-state drive featuring a redesigned and more rugged SATA connector which it claims solves the issue of disconnections due to shock or vibration.

Designed primarily for industrial or military use, the TRRUST-Stor drive is the first SSD to feature the company's redesigned SATA connectors, which boast 50 per cent lower contact resistance and a guaranteed minimum 100,000 insertions with no degradation of performance.

The key feature of the new connectors, which were designed in partnership with Hypertronics, is their latching mechanism: when a cable mount connector is used, the cable is latched into place with a quarter turn. As a result, the cable is going nowhere - regardless of the abuse to which its mounting system is subjected.

'The weakest link in many embedded applications is the connector, which can sabotage the operation of critical hardware,' claimed Microsemi's BJ Heggli at the launch. 'Our new connector family protects against the effects of severe shock and vibration, which safeguards the flow of data. As a result, we can now offer customers what is perhaps the most secure and rugged SSD available on the market.'

While Microsemi is concentrating its efforts on the rugged nature of its design, there's also no loss in performance: the company claims the design is fully compatible with SATA 6Gb/s controllers for full-speed performance from connected devices.

Microsemi's design isn't the first attempt to address the issue of loose SATA connectors: cables featuring a small metal latch, which provides resistance against accidental disconnections, have been in common use since 2005. These cables, while suitable for consumer use, don't quite go as far as Microsemi's design - and with the military willing to pay top dollar for the guarantee that field equipment won't suddenly stop working because of something as minor as a near-miss from an artillery strike, it's a design that could give the company a serious step up over its competitors.

Microsemi has yet to confirm if there are plans afoot to license the connector design for use in commercial products. Pricing, naturally, is only available upon application to the comapany.