NEO Semiconductor has obtained X-NAND technology patents
During the Flash Memory Summit 2020, NEO Semiconductor CEO and founder, Andy Hsu demonstrated a novel NAND technology. This is a flash memory technology called X-NAND, which is characterized by combining the speed of SLC with the high density and low price of QLC. According to Blocks And Files, NEO Semiconductor has obtained a patent for X-NAND technology. This San Jose-based company was established in 2012 and currently has more than 20 memory-related patents and is still in continuous development.
Since the birth of NAND flash memory, there has been no stopping the pace of development, basically pursuing higher storage density. From the original SLC to the current QLC, the storage density has been greatly improved, but as the median of the unit increases, the reading and writing speed is relatively lower, and the durability has also become worse.
X-NAND technology aims to have the speed of single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash memory while providing the capacity of four-level cell (QLC) NAND flash memory and to achieve this goal with the smallest size possible. It is said that X-NAND’s random reading and writing are three times faster than QLC flash memory, continuous reading is 27 times faster, and continuous writing is 14 times faster. In addition, the size of the chip is smaller, the Die Size is only 37% of the NAND flash memory of the same 16 planes, and the size of the chip can be reduced according to actual needs, and the power consumption is also lower.
X-NAND technology can be used with any existing NAND flash memory without structural changes and no additional manufacturing costs, thereby increasing flexibility and simplifying conversion speed. In the future, NEO Semiconductor is likely to license X-NAND technology to NAND flash memory chip manufacturers, including Kioxia, Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix, etc.
